Shattered
by ChaosWolf021
Summary: A deadly plague that no one understands tears the world to pieces. Amidst the chaos a young soldier will begin her journey to see what it means to survive in a world without mercy, in a war where the enemies are those you had loved.
1. The End Begins

**_Author's Note:_** What had started out as a quick project for a friend turned into something much bigger, at about Chapter 3. This here is the alternate, and now official begining of shattered. Not much has changed, just enough for the story to fit together a little better (in my eyes anyway). If this is your first time opening 'Shattered' I hope you enjoy the story.

**Rated fiction M** (see profile for more information)

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**Shattered  
**_Robert K. Anderson

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**Chapter 1: The End Begins**

A purring sound woke Jackie Hunter. She made a low groan, and flipped onto her back. She felt something walking across her stomach up to her chest. Jackie opened her eyes to see her cat Caesar standing on her, staring into her face.

"Asshole," she muttered, plucking the cat off her and dropping him on the floor. He let out a small meow of displeasure before darting out of the room and taking off up the stairs.

She threw her covers off and stepped out of the bed. Since she had an old bunk bed she slept in total darkness. The only window in her basement bedroom bathed the rest of the room in light. So when she stood she had to blink a few times to get used to the sudden light.

Jackie glanced at her clock, noting that it was 9:30. Her stepbrother Cody, and little brother Max, would still be asleep upstairs, but her father and stepmother would be gone out to work already.

She pressed the power button on her 5 CD stereo. As the mechanics inside worked to get the CD into place she walked over to her closet. As she opened it the song 'Root of all evil' started playing from the band Dream Theater.

She changed quickly into a pair of black jeans, and a gray t-shirt with Canadian Forces printed across it. She looked into her closet again, shaking her head at the CADPAT uniform and tactical vest hanging in there, and the helmet sitting on a shelf. Only 18 and she was trained to kill.

Joining the Army reserves had been a good idea, but it had made one hell of a summer for her. Of course it hadn't helped her at school any. Not academically, she was fine in that department. It was socially that she had trouble with. What with running off to distant backwater towns for training on weekends and holidays. She also liked to wear black and gray, and some of her friends wore all black, so people had started calling her a Goth. It really didn't bother her much though; she was used to it by now. It was just weird.

What really pissed her off though were the prep girls who would weigh 100 pounds soaking wet calling her fat. She only weighed 162 pounds, and it wasn't from fat. She was 6'2, with long dark brown hair that hung down to her shoulders. Her eyes were hazel, and her body had an athletic build.

Jackie rubbed her eyes to get some of the sleep out of them. She flicked her stereo off and left her room. She wandered up the stairs into the kitchen. Sleepily she reached into the cupboard near the floor and pulled out a box of Honeycomb cereal. She went around the kitchen gathering the bowl, spoon, and milk before finally settling at the table and pouring her cereal into the bowl.

She ate her cereal in silence, watching the cat out of the corner of her eye. He was running around batting around a ball of tin foil. If only she could be amused that easily March break wouldn't be so boring.

Her friends all lived in town, and she was way out hell out here in Joyceville. Basically it was a small village on the outskirts of Kingston. She didn't drive yet, hadn't even gone in for her G1. Cody could, he was 20, had his license and had a truck out in the driveway. Unfortunately it was uninsured, and was missing some parts for it to be legal to drive on the road. One of his buddies was supposed to be helping him fix it up, but so far no luck.

After finishing her cereal and leaving the dishes by the sink, Jackie wandered into her father's office, where the computer was kept. Just beside the office was Cody's room, and beside that Max's. Jackie didn't care though, she sat in the comfortable leather chair and booted up the computer. She sat back waiting for everything to load up. When it finally did, she opened up the connection to the internet and again had to sit back and wait.

Dial-up pissed her off, but she couldn't afford the much faster DSL. She sighed, opening MSN messenger. She scanned through the list of available contacts, and saw that no one was online. They must all still have been asleep.

"Lazy bastards," she said, flicking off MSN, slightly disappointed that Caity wasn't online. She missed her. Jackie decided to go downstairs and watch some movies. Another boring day lay ahead of her.

* * *

Jackie sat in the chair staring at the blank TV screen. The power had just gone out. Now she was completely cut off from the world. 

At that moment there was a loud thump upstairs. Frowning Jackie got out her seat and slowly started up the stairs.

"Cody what the hell are you doing?" she asked just before she reached the top and looked into the kitchen.

On the floor was a man chewing on the remains of the cat. Half his face was torn away revealing the gleaming white bone of his skull, and the muscles of his jaw. One eye was missing, and there was blood all over his tattered clothes.

"Holy shit," Jackie yelled out.

The stranger turned at the sound. His one remaining eye was white and clouded. He got to his feet and started running towards Jackie. She spun and ran back down the stairs. The stranger came crashing after her, and fell down the stairs.

He hit his head against the hardwood floor of the basement with a solid crack, but he was still alive, somehow. Jackie ran to the fireplace and grabbed the black iron fire poker. She let a small smile cross her face, and looked at the creature crawling rapidly across the floor with its bony hands, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. Jackie went up to it and drove the point of the fire poker through the man's skull, straight through to the floor. He stopped moving after that. Jackie pulled the improvised weapon out from the man's head, the hook pulling off a chunk of bone, and pulling out lumps of brain matter.

There were multiple thumps in quick succession from the stairs. Jackie looked up in time to see Cody standing there wearing only his white and red shorts that he slept in. He stared at the corpse lying on the floor in a quickly spreading pool of blood, before flicking his gaze to Jackie standing above it with a gore stained fire poker.

"What the fuck?" he yelled.

Jackie's eyes drifted down towards the body of the man. The state he was in would have been impossible for anyone to have been alive, much less breaking into a house, catching then eating a kitten, falling down a flight of twelve stairs and surviving, then crawling across the floor to catch another meal. This man had already been dead before coming into this house, there was nothing else that Jackie could think of.

"I think it's a zombie," Jackie said, prodding the body with the fire poker.

"When I said I didn't want to be bored out of my skull today, I didn't expect this," he then stated.

Max came down the stairs, and stopped, stunned at the bloody scene before him. His mouth hung open, as Cody ran back upstairs.

"Get dressed Max," Jackie told him.

He nodded dumbly before walking back upstairs to get dressed. Jackie looked down at the gore covered fire poker, before running up the stairs as well. She looked at the front door, which was wide open, and closed it. She looked through the window in the door but didn't see any more zombies. There was one advantage to living out in Joyceville.

Jackie turned back to face inside, and saw Cody emerging from his bedroom, wearing a dark blue sweater, a Toronto Maple Leafs hat, and blue jeans. He spotted her still holding the fire poker.

"Alright Jake, now what?" he asked, using the nickname that her friends used.

"Dad has guns downstairs in the workshop. A rifle and a shotgun," Jackie said. Cody nodded and the two headed downstairs again for the workshop. As soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs she flicked her gaze over to the corpse on the floor. It hadn't moved so she went into the workshop.

"Where are they?" Cody asked, looking around the cluttered workshop. All he could see were shelves of paint, tools, a messy workbench, and a Jack Daniel's poster. Jackie pulled down the poster revealing a cupboard. Cody nodded slightly in response, then noticed the lock.

He was about to ask how they were going to get in when Jackie picked up a hacksaw from the workbench. She began to cut through the metal.

"Guess dad hoped anyone breaking in was stupid," she thought aloud while working.

After a few minutes of sawing the lock fell off and clattered on the stone floor. Jackie opened the cupboard revealing the 12-gauge pump action shotgun, with pistol grip, and the .22 bolt action rifle. Cody raised his eyebrows, and nodded in silent approval.

Jackie pulled the rifle out and handed it to Cody because he kept bragging about how he grew up around guns and how he was such a good shot. Jackie had always wanted to use the shotgun anyway.

"So this has been really weird. So unlike all the zombie movies we've seen. I mean we've only seen one, there was no emergency broadcast, or anything," Cody said.

"Yeah well, population is kind of light out here. Also, when was the last time we actually watched TV? All we do is watch movies or try and chat on the internet. Well, this would explain why no one was on this morning," Jackie said, thinking to herself.

"hunh?" Cody asked, slightly confused.

"Doesn't matter, hope you feel like driving," Jackie said, opening a drawer at the bottom of the cupboard revealing two boxes. One was full of shotgun ammo, and the other full of rifle ammo.

"Why? Where are we going? I think its safer to stay out here," Cody said.

"Yeah, but we only have so much ammo. Get me to the Thompson Drill Hall, I can get some weapons and ammunition there," Jackie said.

"That's on the base. You know how many of those damned zombies will be there? Lots, we should just stick out here. Besides, what about Max?" Cody asked.

"What about him?" Jackie asked right back.

"We can't leave him here all alone, and we're not bringing him with us. It's too fucking dangerous. I don't want to have to watch his ass," Cody said, voice raising a bit.

"Fine, we'll get Karen to watch him, then we go into town, grab our stuff, see if we can save anybody, and fuck off," Jackie said. The two stared at each other for a moment. Then Cody leaned forward slightly.

"You're insane… Let's do it, I want to cap some zombies" Cody said finally with a wild grin.

The two ran up the stairs. Max was eating a bowl of honeycomb at the table. He looked up and saw the guns. His eyes went wide with amazement.

"Cool," he said.

"Max, Karen is coming over here to watch you. Do everything she tells you to," Jackie told him.

"I know about the zombies Jake. I'm not stupid," her little brother said defiantly, with an angry look on his face.

"Yeah I wish," Cody responded for his step-sister. She couldn't help but smile a bit, and Max sulked hanging his head over his cereal bowl, long brown hair almost in the milk.

Cody raised an eyebrow then turned and left the house. Jackie was right behind him. Outside their house there were only two other houses. One was a farmer's, the other was Karen's right next door. Cody was about to go and start his truck when Jackie stopped him.

"Stay here, watch the Donaldson's," she said, nodding towards the farmer's place.

Cody looked over, noticing the broken down door. He nodded, and checked to make sure his rifle was ready. Jackie quickly ran across her yard to Karen's. Karen was a close friend of her father's, she would undoubtedly help out.

Jackie went up to the front door and started knocking loudly. For a few moment's there was no answer, then the door swung open. Karen stood there in her house coat staring at Jackie with sleepy eyes.

"Need something?" she asked.

"Karen, something has gone horribly wrong, and we need your help," Jackie said.


	2. The Farm

**Chapter 2: The Farm**

After explaining what Jackie knew was going on, Karen went over to look after Max while Cody and Jackie went into town. First the two decided to make sure that the area was as safe as possible.

They crossed the street to check out the Donaldson's farm. Walking up the long driveway Jackie point out the occasional blood splotch on the ground.

"Could be from a zombie," Cody pointed out.

Jackie looked back at their house, and for the first time saw the bloody mark on the door.

"Maybe the one that came after me," she pointed out.

Cody nodded and the two started up the driveway again. It wasn't paved and they could hear the gravel beneath their feet. Jackie looked around, searching for the dog that always came over and shit on their lawn. It wasn't around, and it made her nervous.

The two stepped onto the front porch, Cody nearly slipped in a puddle of blood. He looked down at the smeared crimson while Jackie examined the door. It had been smashed off its hinges, splinters of wood were all over and blood was streaked up the wall beside the door.

Cody shook his head as Jackie stepped inside, the butt of the shotgun pressed against her shoulder.

"This is insane," he said.

"Just remember to aim for the head, it worked against the bastard in the basement," Jackie said, reaching for a light switch before remembering the power was out. She walked further in looking all around for any sign of the Donaldson's

"How many people live in this house again?" Cody whispered.

"John and Barb, and I think their sons are visiting as well," Jackie answered just as quietly.

Jackie saw some blood on the floor leading to the kitchen. She was about to go through the room when she heard a thump above her. She looked up at the ceiling out of instinct.

"Upstairs then," Cody said, and Jackie nodded. The two quickly found the staircase and started up. Both would wince whenever the wood creaked. When they reached the top of the stairs Jackie turned down the hall, shotgun following her movements.

She gestured with her head for Cody to follow. He was right behind her as the two went down the hall way, checking every room. At the third door Jackie opened she saw John tearing a chunk from his youngest son's thigh. The poor bastard had already been torn apart, all that remained intact was a piece of his face. Though the nose and lips were gone, the eyes were untouched. They were open wide from pain and fear. He was far from alive however.

Barb was on top of the bed chewing on her child's arm, tearing off strips of meat with her blood stained teeth. Chunks of her hair had been pulled out leaving her scalp bloodied. Her clothes had been torn to shreds but it didn't reveal much as her breasts looked like they'd been eaten.

Cody put his rifle to his shoulder and fired. The bullet hit Barb just above the eye. The back of her skull exploded sending brains and bits of bone splattering across the wall behind her.

Jackie raised the shotgun, took a single step forward and fired at John. The blast took his nearly clean off. Blood splattered across the room, some splashing across Jackie. She pumped the shotgun before taking a hand and wiping some blood from her face.

"We should check the barn," she said.

"Why? Animals never became zombies in the movies," Cody said.

"This isn't the movies. Besides, remember Resident Evil?" Jackie said leaving the room and going back down the stairs. Cody stayed in the room for a few seconds glancing over the carnage. He shuddered and ran after Jackie. He remember Resident Evil all right. There better not be any fucking dog zombies.

As Cody left the house to catch up with Jackie, he heard a strange yipping, moaning sound. He turned around the corner of the house to see Jackie standing above the corpse of a dog.

"So much for animals not becoming zombies," she said, slipping two more shells into the shotgun.

"I suppose, Jesus," Cody said looking at the bloody remains of the dog. The pellets from the shotgun had torn its head apart, leaving only a bloody stump. Jackie started walking towards the large barn. Cody shook his head when he saw it, like he always did. Only barn he's ever seen made with blue metal siding.

"We still haven't seen David, their oldest son. Be careful but make sure he's a zombie before shooting him. If he's even here" Jackie said.

Cody nodded, and the two entered the barn. The cows were still tied to the bars running along one side of the barn, and the horses still in their stalls. They seemed normal.

Then Jackie spotted the bucket beneath the first cow, and someone's hand on the udder. She never knew that the Donaldson's still milked the old fashioned way. Cody lowered his rifle seeing that David was human.

"David?" Jackie called, but there was no response. Cautiously she walked forward a few steps, then saw the blood fall from behind the cow. Jackie stopped where she was and flicked her gaze to the cow's head.

The animal's eyes were glazed over, much like the guy who came at her in the basement, or the dog's.

"Cody shoot it," Jackie yelled. Cody looked over at the head and saw the eyes. He swore and brought the rifle to his shoulder. He fired and the shot echoed through the barn. The cow's head rocked a bit as chunks of meat flew out behind it. It stood for a few seconds before falling onto its side, revealing David behind it.

The cow's side had been torn open, revealing its ribcage and whatever organs that remained. David had been eating the cow as it stood there. The eldest Donaldson son was covered in the cow's blood. It ran from his mouth, covered his face, and was splattered across the front of his shirt. Jackie noticed the bite mark on his neck.

Cody shot him in the head. The zombie fell backwards off the stool he was sitting on, startling the cow behind him, which was still alive.

"We should check the other animals to," Cody said. Jackie nodded and the two split up. Jackie checked each horse, making sure her shotgun was pointed at each animal's head as she made sure they were still amongst the living.

Cody walked in front of the bar that held the cows in place. He stayed far enough away that if any of them was a zombie he wouldn't get bit. They met up at the end of the barn.

"How are the horses?" Cody asked.

"Alive, and the cows?" Jackie responded.

"Same, but how long will they stay that way? The farmers are dead in case you've forgotten, they don't have much food," Cody pointed out.

"Let them out of their stalls, open the back doors to the barn and they'll wander around in the fields," Jackie said after a few seconds thought.

Cody nodded, and as Jackie opened the back doors of the barn Cody let the animals loose. The horses immediately galloped out into the fields, reveling in their freedom, while the cows slowly walked out.

"Now that we've had our humanitarian moment with the farm animals, lets get to the drill hall, see if we can find anyone that's still alive," Jackie said.

Cody nodded, and the two started back towards the truck. If the farm was any sign of what was to come, then the city was going to be hell on earth.


	3. Call to Arms

**_Author's Note:_** Hey hey. Finally got around to updating this story. I know it's been months, but I've had my other fanfics as well as training to do (I've just gotten back from Meaford only a little while ago). Anyway this chapter is more build-up for where I've decided to take the story from the last chapter, the next chapter is when everything is going to start happening. Also two names people will commonly mispronounce appear in this chapter. Hogg (pronounced like Hogue) and Esau (pronounced like E-saw). Enjoy the chapter.

**Chapter 3: Call to Arms**

As Jackie and Cody were about to climb into the truck, Karen poked her head out a window.

"Jackie, the phone," she said, causing Cody and Jackie to glance at each other before Jackie headed towards the house.

"Start up the truck," she told Cody.

"No shit, just hurry up. There's zombies out there that need killin," Cody snapped back, his normal attitude coming back now that he was recovering from the initial shock.

Jackie couldn't help but smile as she went back inside her house, running for the phone. She vaguely noticed Karen shoving the remains of Caesar in a plastic garbage bag and tying it off. When she got into the office she grabbed the phone.

"Hello?" she asked.

"_Pte Hunter, this is Cpl Todd from the PWOR. We need you to report in for immediate deployment within the city_," the voice at the other end of the phone said.

"Understood, I'll be in as soon as possible," Jackie told the clerk.

Cpl Todd hung up, followed almost immediately by Jackie who ran downstairs to get into her uniform. The whole time muttering obscenities to herself.

* * *

"What the fuck?" Cody said as Jackie came out of the house wearing her uniform, and tactical vest. Her helmet was clipped onto the front of her vest. The shotgun was still in her hands, but she had tied rope around the barrel and grip for an impromptu sling.

"Change of plans," Jackie said climbing into the truck, and slamming the door shut.

"What do you mean change of plans?" Cody said, a little anger seeping into his voice.

"I need you to drop me off on Montreal street, if you don't want to risk that, near the RMC gym and I'll walk the rest of the way. After that you're on your own. Find some living buddies, grab weapons, and get the fuck back here, barricade yourselves in," Jackie explained.

"Alright… alright let's do it," Cody said nodding solemnly.

* * *

The truck sped down the road, heading towards the city. As they got closer to the city, Jackie felt the nervousness in her gut climbing. She had no idea what condition the city was in. It could be great, it could be horrible.

Jackie had told Cody to take the side roads to get downtown, where the armories were located. There would be less zombies than on highway 15.

As they drove past CFB Kingston, and towards the bridge that would lead downtown the two got their first real glimpse at the destruction. People were running amok, zombies tearing through them. Jackie could see blood everywhere, people laying in the street attempting to stop fatal wounds from bleeding. Some zombies came after the truck, but Cody simply ran them down.

There were a few other cars out, but not many. There were many vehicles crashed on the side of the road. Some totally destroyed and splattered with blood as the zombies had pulled the survivors out and devoured them.

Cody crossed the green metal bridge. What they had seen at the university and subdivision was nothing compared to downtown. Police were in the streets trying to hold off the undead, but failing miserably. There were too many. Buildings were being consumed by fire, and blood ran down the streets, draining into the various manholes.

"Fuck Jesus," Jackie muttered.

"I'm letting you off here, fuck this shit," Cody said.

"Okay," Jackie said, gripping her shotgun and getting out of the truck. Almost immediately she plotted a route to the armories that would involve the least amount of zombies.

"Hey Jake," Cody called causing Jackie to look back at her step-brother. "Good luck," he said with a slight smile.

"Yeah, you to," Jackie responded. As Cody turned his truck around and sped off back the way he had come Jackie wondered if she would ever see him again. She shook her head. That didn't matter right now, she had to get to the armories. Her comrades would need her help.

She started off towards the armories, heading straight for the residential district to get to Montreal St. avoiding the downtown commercial area. She cut across parking lots and ran through backyards, jumping the fences at the property lines. The longer the avoided the actual streets the better chance she had of reaching the armories alive.

Every so often she would pause and listen. If she could only hear screams and gunshots she knew she was okay. She always listened intensely for the sounds of moans or quickly advancing footsteps.

When she finally got to Montreal St. she made her way towards the armories. She saw the building, resembling an old medieval barracks or something. It's sturdy stone walls were a welcoming sight. There weren't too many zombies around here. She ran to the large double doors, and knocked.

At first nothing happened, so she knocked again. Again nothing happened. She was about to knock a third time, louder this time, when the smaller personnel doors within the large right door opened. Two soldiers stood behind it, C7 assault rifles pointed at Jackie's head. She recognized them both. There were both privates, like her; Chris Moore and Jason Upton. Though she knew their first names she only called them by their last.

"Hunter, holy fuck just on time. Get in here," Upton said and Jackie complied without hesitation. Moore slammed the door shut.

"Get to the weapons depot, they'll arm you," Moore said.

Jackie headed inwards. The parade square which took up a large chunk of the armories was full of soldiers. Four ML trucks were parked, all being loaded up with equipment. Many soldiers were fixing their rucksacks, fixing them to their own personal preference, others were loading their magazines with ammunition.

Jackie turned to the right after leaving the arched hallway that led into the parade square. Following the wall and slightly raised walkway Jackie took another right into a small room filled with weapons. Two other soldiers were inside. Corporals Young and Dressler.

"Alright Hunter, we're still following protocol, so sign these forms while we get your shit ready," Young informed her, as he pulled a bolt, five magazines and a sling out of their respective boxes. Dressler grabbed a C7 from one of the racks that still had rifles on it. Jackie quickly signed the sheet that said what she was signing out, and dated it.

Jackie grabbed the stuff handed to her, as well as her ammunition which she shoved into one of the pockets of her vest. She walked out to the parade square, and sat down beside a well built private named Fetzner. As always his flaming red hair was cut very short around the sides, but there was still a bit on the top. All the males in the army had to keep short hair. Females were allowed to wear long hair, but they always had to keep it done up somehow. Jackie wore a French braid to work, it was just the easiest way with her hair.

"Hey Hunter, nice shotgun," Fetzner said, slipping 5.56 rounds into his C7 magazines. Jackie immediately followed suite. She also knew she'd have to run upstairs soon to grab her rucksack.

"Thanks. I don't think they'll care that I have it at this point," Jackie answered.

"Nope, I saw some other guys with rifles or shotguns on them," Fetzner informed her. Jackie simply nodded.

* * *

Jackie had brought her rucksack down, and was immediately issued extra ammo, IMPs, an axe, extra water, frag grenades, smoke grenades, glow sticks, a map, a sheet of paper with all the orders on it including a list of the rescue stations around the city, and who would be sent where.

She packed the glow sticks and map into the inner pouch of her vest, and shoved two grenades and two smoke grenades in their appropriate pouches on her vest. She shoved her shotgun and axe behind the side pockets of her rucksack. The rucksack was designed to have the pockets hold long skinnier objects such as axes, pickaxes or shovels behind them. Jackie figured a shotgun would work as well.

She threw most of her extra clothes that she kept in the rucksack back into her locker, and her beret which she had been wearing this whole time. She stuck her helmet on, and loaded the rucksack with all the extra ammo, her water, and her food.

Finally she looked at the orders sheet as she waited for everyone else to get settled. Surprisingly she had only been here a half-hour. They were working a lot faster than they would just heading out on exercise.

The orders were quite simple. Secure rescue stations, protect citizens of the city. Authorization to kill any hostiles, this includes those who are not zombies. Jackie glanced down to the rescue stations. There were only four. One was Kingston General Hospital. Another was LCVI, one of the high schools on the other side of the city. The Kingston Police Headquarters was the third, being held mostly by police officers with minimal support from the PWOR. Finally, out near Grenadier village the fourth station was LaSalle Secondary School. Jackie looked down the list of names, and saw her own there. Fetzner, Moore, Upton, Esau, and Hogg were the only privates going. Master Corporal Andre was going to be the section 2IC, and Sergeant Howard was going to be the Section Commander. Jackie shook her head.

Jackie shook her head, they were only sending a section to secure the school. Half a section was going to the police station, while the remainder of the regiment was being sent to the hospital and other high school.

"Jesus Christ," she muttered to herself.

"Read the orders to eh? Well I wouldn't mind dying beside you," a voice said from behind her.

Jackie turned and saw Esau. He was one of her best friends, and within the army he was her best friend. He held out a fist and she punched it. His C7 was slung across his back. Jackie noticed that it had an M203 grenade launcher attached to the bottom. The bandolier of 40mm grenades was across his chest.

"Yeah well, I don't plan on dying," Jackie said to him, causing him to laugh.

The two headed towards the ML that was going to take them to their post. Sergeant Howard was standing beside the truck talking with M.Cpl Andre. When Andre saw that the six troops under his command had showed up, he started placing them all in fire teams. He looked at all their armaments before choosing where they would be placed.

Fetzner had the radio and was put in Alpha team, behind the Sgt. Upton had a C9 light machine gun and was put in Bravo team with Esau who was the team leader. Jackie was made Charlie team leader, with Hogg as her fire team partner. Delta Team was Andre with Moore as the C9 gunner.

"Alright, because of the way everything is working we are 4 platoon 1 section. Don't laugh, the guys going to the police station are worse, they don't even have section strength. Our call sign is 04 alpha. We're leaving as of now so load up your shit and climb aboard. Andre you're riding shotgun with me. Charlie team you are sitting at the rear, ready to jump off and kick ass as per your job description," Howard told them all, with that he climbed inside the truck and started it up.

Hogg and Jackie glanced at each other and nodded as the others climbed up into the truck after throwing on all their rucksacks. When it was their turn Jackie and Hogg close the rear hatch.

Hogg started nodded his head and making techno sound effects. Jackie shook her head and smiled. They were heading into the maw of hell and Hogg was still in high spirits.

"We're heading out regiment. Open the doors," the Regimental Sergeant Major called out. At that moment the truck started moving. Jackie closed her eyes for a second. She knew this would probably be her last few hours alive, but she would face death with squared shoulders.

When she opened her eyes they were outside the armories heading back towards the bridge that had gotten her here, heading back towards LaSalle. Her war had started, now the battle was about to commence.


	4. LaSalle

**_Author's Note:_** I was actually going to update this last week, however certain technical issues wouldn't let me insert the rulers that I demand I put in my stories. However with my girlfriend's brilliant HTML knowledge I was able to bypass this. So thanks to PoltergeistGirl for the help. Hope you all enjoy. Oh and before you start reading 'Pte' is the Canadian short form for 'Private' in the military.

**Chapter 4: LaSalle**

The ML pulled into the school and drove around back to the student parking lot. Zombies shambling around noticed the large truck and started running towards it. Jackie and Hogg quickly opened the back and jumped out, rifle butts in their shoulders.

Jackie didn't even need to use the optical sight sitting on the top of her rifle. She simply opened fire instinctively. With each shot a bullet punched through the skull of a zombie, sending out a grayish red mist behind it. With each head shot another ghoul fell to the ground, smashing it's skull on the concrete.

"Hurry up guys," Hogg called back as he reloaded his rifle, slipping the used magazine in the pouch he had taken the new one from.

Jackie continued to fire upon the quickly oncoming zombies, continuously checking behind her to make sure none were coming from behind.

Her weapon stopped firing as the bolt slammed to the rear of the weapon and stayed there. Without thinking she ejected the magazine, took out a new one, slamming it in place, putting the old one away, and hitting the bolt catch. Upon the last action the bolt was instantly forward, picking up a round from the fresh magazine. Jackie started firing again.

"Charlie team, grab your rucks and move. Alpha will cover you," Howard called. Jackie and Hogg turned and ran to grab their rucksacks. They quickly threw them on and started running towards the school. Brave and Delta team were already inside, Alpha was right behind Charlie.

As soon as the last four soldiers were inside, they slammed the doors shut. Jackie smiled as she remembered that the windows were shatterproof. The zombies, unable to think continually slammed themselves against the doors. Since the doors opened outwards they didn't even budge.

"Sergeant, there's a bunch of people in here already. I count about a couple hundred. Their all holed up either in the gym or some room called the great hall, which looks like a cafeteria to me," Andre reported.

"Okay. Bravo, maps show a way to the roof through the cafeteria, get up there, keep a look out. Delta, set up in the lobby, you'll be able to see enough to keep the front secure. Charlie go to the cafeteria, make sure everyone is okay. We're heading to the gym to check on the people in there. We'll organize the people see if we can secure this place,"

Everyone responded with a sharp 'yes sergeant' before heading off to their various duties. As she headed towards the 'Great Hall' as the school called their cafeteria, she looked around. The school looked much as it did normally. This was her school, and now she was defending it, and the people within it.

She opened one of five sets of doors into the cafeteria. She noticed the door that led into the room where students actually purchased food were closed, and the curtains to the stage were also closed. People looked up as the soldiers entered. Some with hope, others only looked tired.

Jackie quickly scanned the people, ignoring pleading looks. She noticed no one appeared wounded in here, though some still had blood over them. Everyone sat at the tables, some talking, some just sitting. There was a feeling of dread in the air, and the weight of her job suddenly came down on Jackie's shoulders; all of these people were depending on her to protect them.

"Go around and make sure everyone is okay," Jackie told Hogg after a few moments.

Hogg nodded solemnly, he felt the same pressure now that Jackie did. He started walking to each table talking with the people. Jackie did the same, weaving a different path through the tables. At each table she stopped at the people were exhausted, sad, angry. She didn't see much hope in their eyes. Most of them couldn't even look up at her when she spoke to them.

She noticed some glance at the rifle slung over her shoulder and nodding slightly at her. They knew what she was here for. She glanced over anyone with blood on them, but she didn't see any wounded. She couldn't believe everyone had gotten here without getting hurt.

"All the wounded gathered in the Gymnasium," Jackie was told when she finally stopped to ask.

As she went to the next table, then the one after that she had stopped looking for anyone she recognized. She didn't even really register people's faces, just made sure they were okay. She came upon yet another table.

"You guys okay?" she asked without really looking at any of them.

"Holy shit! Jake!" one of them said, causing Jackie to snap back to full attention. As she looked over the people sitting around the table she noticed they were all her friends. She blinked a few times. Jenn, Mandee, Meg and Caity were all there with surprised looks on their faces. After just a second Caity jumped up and ran forward to envelop Jackie in a huge hug, which was immediately returned.

"I can't believe you guys are all okay," Jackie said glancing over all her friends. They were all unscathed but Jenn was spattered with blood. When Jenn noticed Jackie staring she matched the gaze evenly.

"Chad was zombified," she said simply, answering the unasked question without any emotion. Jackie nodded solemnly.

Caity then removed herself from the embrace, and put herself beside Jackie, arm around her shoulders. Jackie wrapped her own arm around Caity's waist and pulled her close.

"How'd you all get here?" Jackie asked.

"Ran," Jenn said.

"Yeah, I ran to," Megan stated with a smile.

"I drove, and picked up your lover too," Mandee said, and Caity nodded to confirm. Jackie offered a small smile to Mandee in thanks.

Then the weight of the rifle still clutched in her right hand by the slip rings became painfully aware to Jackie. She was standing in front of her friends ready for a war, she was supposed to be doing her job. She was just about to take her leave when Hogg came up beside her.

"Sergeant wants us to set up some tables out in the lobby as a headquarters. He'll meet us there is fifteen minutes," he said, before tossing a glance at Caity who offered a sheepish smile.

"Okay, I have to go guys. I'll see you around," Jackie said, giving Caity a small kiss before letting go of her and starting towards the exit of the cafeteria. Her friends all called out their various farewells to her.

* * *

Hogg and Jackie dragged out two of the half tables that filled the cafeteria, and put them together to form a full table. It was big enough for all eight soldiers to sit around and to lay maps across. 

While Jackie and Hogg had been covering the rest of the section, they had brought in all kinds of equipment, not just their own personal stuff. Howard pulled some maps out of a box and put them on the table. There was a map of the entire city of Kingston, a map of the area surrounding the school, and finally blueprints for the school itself.

"If this was an ideal situation, I'd have you all here at once so I don't need to repeat myself and shit gets done faster. This is not an ideal situation though, and so I'll have to do this a fire team at a time," the sergeant told Jackie, Hogg, Andre and Fetzner.

"Alright then. You both know the situation, but let me clarify just to be sure. The dead are rising. Yes there are fucking flesh eating zombies running around out there. Our job, as Kingston's Own is to protect the survivors. We have been stationed out here. We're lucky in the fact that we're a fair distance from the downtown area. We're unlucky in the fact that we're only a section strong in a residential area. I've issued out duties for each fire team to keep as much security while still getting some rest. So we'll always have one fire team on the roof providing security, one in the halls doing roving patrols and one on forced rest. As for Alpha, we'll be alternating between checking on the infirmary they have set up in the gym, monitoring the radio, going over plans, and of course, sleeping. Alpha team is essentially the headquarters element of our little platoon out here," Howard said, shaking his head slightly.

"Moore have you taken inventory yet?" the sergeant asked, turning to Moore who was sitting by some boxes, the antenna for the radio sticking into the air above his head, almost like a black beacon. His rifle was leaning against one of the boxes, within easy reach.

"Yes sergeant," he responded.

"Well, fucking spit it out," Howard barked, making Moore jump just a little.

"We have enough IMPs to last us a week, that's not including the ones we were issued back at the armories. We have four sets of spare batteries for the radio, a shit load of spare batteries for our flashlights. We have 10 boxes for the C9s, as well as 200 magazines worth of 5.56mm for our C7s. We don't have any extra explosives so what we were issued is all we got. We have a milk crate full of cam paint, bug juice, sun screen and glow sticks. There are 8 cots, and 8 flak vests. That's all they gave us," Moore said.

"Alright, one flak vest and one cot each. Ammo and other shit will be issued when needed, because I know you all have a full battle load, plus extra ammo. Set up your cots, put your flak vests on. Charlie head to the infirmary I'll explain what I need you to do there afterwards. Delta go relieve Bravo on the roof so they can come get their shit. Set up your cots in order of fire teams along the wall here," the sergeant ordered indicating a glass wall made up mostly of windows the surrounded the courtyard in the middle of the school.

Again, with another course of sharp 'yes sergeant', the four soldiers went to work. They had their cots set up, pulled their sleeping bags out and set it on top, and placed their rucks at the foot of the cot. They each quickly removed their tactical vests and attached it to their flak vests to make it a single system. As Jackie pulled on her tactical flak vest she noted the thickness of the actual flak vest and the pieces that came up to cover the neck, and the shoulder pads. The zombies would have to work hard to chew through it, and it protected some of the more vital places on the human body.

When Delta was finished the went into the cafeteria to find the stairs that led to where Bravo was stationed. Charlie stood by their cots waiting for the sergeant's brief on the infirmary. He approached them with an almost sorrowful look on his face.

"Okay guys, what I'm going to ask you is going to different from anything you've trained for before today. If you don't know already, I'm telling you now that a bite from one of those things is lethal. Not only will you die from infection but you'll just get back up as one of them," Howard explained.

"We understand sergeant," Jackie answered for the both of them. With a sinking feeling in her gut she began to realize what she was going to be asked to do before Howard even told them.

"Some of the wounded in the infirmary are bitten. I'm going to need you and Hogg to take them aside… and kill them," Howard said with some difficulty.

"Understood sergeant," Jackie and Hogg said as one with calm collected voices. Inside though, they felt queasy. Howard examined them, but couldn't detect any hesitation on the parts of his soldiers. He nodded gravely and the two knew they were dismissed.

They started down the hall towards the gym in silence, the enormity of their situation and what they were about to do weighing down upon them. When they reached the doors they stepped through without hesitation.

The room was almost unrecognizable to Jackie. She had never seen it so full. The room was packed with people. Mats had been dragged out to act as improvised cots for the wounded, people were running all over trying to perform first aid the best they could. There was blood across the floor from gashes and bites. The moans of the wounded filled the room.

One man noticed the two soldiers enter the impromptu infirmary. He came up to them with a sense of urgency, the first thing Jackie noticed was the air of authority about him.

"Hello, if you don't know, my name's Sam. I'm the one in charge here," the man said, extending his hand, to Hogg.

Hogg looked down at it for a second, but Jackie, being the fire team leader, took the offered hand and shook. Surprise passed over the man's face for a brief second, and relief over Hogg's. He didn't like dealing with people.

"I'm Pte Hunter, this is Pte Hogg. We're part of the task force assigned to protect this rescue station," Jackie informed him. Sam nodded, then frowned.

"I already talked to your Sgt, what do you need here?" Sam asked, and Jackie took a deep breath.

"We're here to take anyone who's been bitten and separate them from the rest," she explained.

"What why?" Sam demanded, a mix of anger and fear coming over his voice.

"Their infected. If we don't take care of them now they'll die, come back, and try to kill us all. In a tightly packed space like this, they'll succeed," Jackie explained calmly. Sam blinked a few times, staring dumbly at her. In his mind he knew it had to be done, so he relented with a simple nod.

With Sam's help, Jackie and Hogg went through the gym gathering those who had been bitten. To Jackie's dismay there were more than a few. As they were being gathered most of them seemed to know what was going to happen, and they gave in to their fates sullenly, but without any fight.

As they were led from the main gym and into a smaller gym Jackie noticed one in the group was a little girl, no more than seven years old. She seemed so innocent even though her blue shirt was spattered with her own blood; a chunk had been taken from her upper arm. Her face was red from crying, and now fresh tears were running down her face from fear. The sight of it nearly broke Jackie's heart but she didn't let it show.

"I have some blindfolds here," Sam said to Jackie, holding up strips of cloth. Jackie looked down at them and nodded.

"Offer them out," she said, and Sam nodded in return. He went amongst the people, some unable to stand because of bites in their legs. One elderly man had his flesh torn away so deep that the gleaming white of revealed bone was visible to any who cared to look.

"You may want to leave," Jackie said to Sam when he had handed out blindfolds to everyone. The self appointed leader of the survivors quickly left the room. He had no intention of witnessing what was about to happen.

Jackie turned to the gathered victims. They all looked at her with a mixture of dread of impatience. They all feared what was about to happen, but they all understood why. Except the little girl. Jackie had heard her talking to one of the older women, and overheard that her name was Suzan.

"I want to do her first, so she doesn't know what's happening," Jackie said to Hogg quietly, indicating Suzan, and he looked over at the crowd, and just as quietly voiced his agreement.

Jackie went over to the group, and gently guided Suzan away from the others. She stood alone as Hogg organized the bite victims so that he and Jackie could get through their disgusting task as quickly as possible. Everyone's eyes were on Jackie as she raised her rifle to her shoulder and aimed at Suzan's head.

"Where's mommy? I want mommy!" Suzan was sobbing quietly.

"Mommy's right here sweetheart," the older woman that had been speaking with the girl earlier said. Jackie closed her eyes, she couldn't believe what she was doing. She opened them again, and saw Suzan's blindfolded face through the optical sight of her rifle.

"Mommy, I'm scared," Suzan cried.

"Everything will be alright soon," the mother said.

"I'm going to hell," Jackie muttered beneath her breath.

She squeezed the trigger slowly. The weapon fired, the shot seemed deafening and final.

* * *

Howard was in the lobby speaking with Sam, as some of the unwounded survivors gathered objects from around the school to barricade the entrances. They had found metal and wood down in the tech wing of the school where all the workshops were located. Sheets of metal were being welded into place over doors and windows. Broken desks from the classrooms were also being used to reinforce the doors. 

Then the shot rang out. Sam winced, while Howard only cringed on the inside, keeping up an image amongst the survivors. There was a minute pause then another shot, and after that they came in quick succession. After a few minutes there was silence through the school. Sam's head was hung low with sorrow. It was a gruesome task, but it had had to be done.

* * *

Jenn, Mandee, Caity and Megan were still sitting in the cafeteria when the shots rang out. The first one startled them but as the bursts of violent sound continued they simply look at each other in slight confusion. 

Silence settled into the school, there wasn't even any conversation anymore. Everyone seemed to know that something out of the ordinary had just happened. The friends looked at each other with concern.

* * *

As night fell and Charlie team laid themselves on their cots to rest, Jackie found that sleep just would not overtake her. All she could see was Suzan's head exploding in a splatter of gore and the mother's scream that had almost been drowned out. Jackie felt guilty for what she had just done. She could feel her tears roll down her face as she stared at the empty ceiling. 


	5. Secure

**_Author's Note:_** Okay Chapter 5 is up for your reading pleasure. It's a little longer than most, and I hope you really do enjoy this. Reviews are always welcome.

**Chapter 5: Secure**

Jenn left the cafeteria wearing the same black sweater that she had been for the past five days. She walked quietly past the four sleeping soldiers in the lobby not wanting to wake them. She rubbed her arms through the fabric of her sweater, it was always too cold in this damn school, even when she had just been a student and not a refugee.

Jenn made a beeline for the girls' bathroom, having felt the urge to empty her bladder. She opened the door with a single outstretched hand. As soon as she stepped into the small room a look of revulsion came across her face. The room had always been disgusting, it was never cleaned properly. Now that there were over a hundred peopleliving in the damn place hygiene had taken an even sharper downfall. The garbage cans were overflowing with tissues and paper towel, there was water all across the floor, and a foul stench had come over the bathroom.

Shaking her head in disgust she carefully walked into one of the stalls, being careful not to slip in the water spilled across the floor. As she opened the stall door her eyes went to the toilet paper dispenser; it was empty.

"You have to be fucking kidding," Jenn muttered angrily.

* * *

Jackie, Hogg, Moore and Howard were all leaning over the table they had set up for operational planning. The blueprints of the school were laid out and Jackie pointed out all the observations she had made during her roving patrols through the school. Mostly they were about the barricades and any weak points that would have to be reinforced.

"Also we're running low on supplies. Even with the food rationed it won't last past today. Also hygiene products are gone. Medical supplies are low after the first day, but hopefully we won't have anything worse than what that stupid fucker did in the metal shop," Jackie said referencing one of the survivors who had cut his hand off fucking around. Hogg couldn't help but grin a bit, he had been the one to help the idiot.

"I'm aware of that problem, especially with the food. Unfortunately I don't know what to do to solve that problem," Howard said with resignation in his voice.

Jackie looked over at the maps piled at the end of the table. She grabbed one and spread it out over the blueprints. It was a map of the immediate area. The other three narrowed their eyes as Jackie put paperweights on the corners. Finally satisfied she jabbed a finger onto a spot on the map.

"There," Jackie pronounced.

The spot she was pointing at was a strip mall that appeared to be no more than a five minute walk from the school. However, between the school and the strip mall was a decently sized chunk of residential area.

"There's a grocery store, and a pharmacy in this place. We'll be able to stock up from these places. Everything we really need at our fingertips," Jackie explained.

"How do you expect us to get there, Hunter? We can't just go waltz past those rotting fuckers out there," Moore exclaimed standing up from the table and crossing his arms across his chest.

"Why not? Recce team, Moore. Two guys sneak through the subdivision and into the store. Once in grab the shit we need and have someone drive the truck to pick us up and bring us back," Jackie explained carefully. Howard nodded in appreciation.

"Good idea, Charlie goes in for the recce. You know the area best Hunter so you go. Besides, Hogg is one of the better Recce guys we have," Howard ordered.

Hogg smiled with appreciation. He had always enjoyed a good recce. Now that the stakes were higher, it excited him that much more. He started nodding his head and Jackie could barely hear the techno sounds he made under his breath.

"Get some sleep you two. Dismissed," Howard said. Jackie and Hogg nodded; the ceremony of their military positions had slowly faded over the past five days. They left the sergeant with his radio man to go and get some rest.

* * *

Jackie sat at one of the cafeteria tables, absently eating chips from a bag her friends had gotten for her. Dill Pickle flavor as well, her favorite. She listened to her friends chat on, trying to continue a normal life. Mostly they complained about how crappy life was stuck in the school. Jenn pointed out the horrible conditions of the bathroom and how someone should clean it, and Megan said how that there wasn't enough food and that she was hungry. Everyone agreed with her, all of them throwing a glance at Jackie's open chip bag at least once.

"They should have more food in this place," Mandee pointed out.

"Especially considering that their using it as a rescue station. You'd think the place would be better stocked," Jenn continued.

"Well, it'll be restocked again soon," Jackie said absent mindedly, not really thinking about what she was saying.

"How exactly is that going to happen Jake? A truck isn't going to randomly pull up and drop off food and supplies for us," Jenn said seriously.

"No, people have to go out and get it," Jackie replied, placing another chip in her mouth and savoring the taste.

"Who?" Megan asked, and then the fact that Jackie was wearing a uniform sunk in once again.

"Fuck no!" Caity shouted throwing her arms around Jackie and squeezing tight refusing to let go.

"Hun, it'll be okay. Nothing will happen to me," Jackie said, knowing in the back of her mind that it could very well turn out to be a lie. She lightly stroked her girlfriend's dark brown hair, purposely letting her fingers trail through the purple streaks.

"You didn't volunteer for this did you?" Jenn asked, her eyes narrowing only slightly.

"No, for once," Jackie replied.

"Well, if you're going to Bennett's could you pick up some junk food for us," Megan asked hopefully, and Mandee let a wild grin cross her features.

"Essential supplies only girls, sorry," Jackie replied.

"You should get some sleep at least," Jenn suggested.

"I should," Jackie said. She stopped stroking Caity's hair and hugged her tightly. She smiled down at her lover.

"I have to go, I'll talk to you soon," Jackie said.

"Okay," Caity pouted, reluctantly letting Jackie go. Once released Jackie got up from the table said good bye to everyone, gave Caity a goodbye kiss and started towards the makeshift barracks, her cot calling to her.

The others watched her leave the cafeteria. Once the door closed behind her they all exchanged worrying glances. They all knew deep inside that Jackie was walking in the maws of hell, and that she may very well not return.

* * *

The sun had set an hour before, and Jackie was still fast asleep. She was laying on her side, hand held under her head as a makeshift pillow, elbow pointing outwards. Her legs were curled up slightly to conserve warmth and to stay fully on the cot. Her olive drab sleeping bag covered only the lower half of her body, leaving her t-shirt covered torso exposed. Her boots, tunic and tactical flak jacket were laid out under her cot. Her hair, now let loose, was strung wildly around her head, some strands hanging in front of her face, some lying across the cot.

Hogg approached her carefully, and gently shook Jackie's shoulder.

"Fuck off, more sleep," she sputtered not even opening her eyes. Hogg rolled his own eyes, and shook her shoulder a little more roughly. This time Jackie opened her eyes , and let out a long drawn out groan.

"Fucker," Jackie said slowly, before sitting up. Her hair fell around her face, almost like a shroud.

"You look like death," Hogg observed, and received a raised middle finger as a reply.

"How long do we have?" Jackie asked swinging her legs out over the cot and pulling her boots on.

"An hour," Hogg told his fire team leader. Jackie nodded tiredly before walking slowly to the bathroom, hand to her forehead. Inside the bathroom she fixed her hair back into it's French braid, and splashed cold water on her face to help wake herself up.

When she returned to the row of cots Hogg was sitting on his own cot, sipping from his canteen cup. Jackie noticed her own sitting on her cot.

"Made us some coffee, double double, just the way you like it," Hogg said before taking another careful sip.

"See, you're not always an ass. Where'd you get the coffee?" Jackie asked.

"Rations," Hogg stated simply. Jackie couldn't help but smile as she sat and picked up her own cup. The two soldiers quickly finished their coffee, then shoved the canteen cups back inside their tactical vests. They pulled on all their combat gear, making sure everything was on tight so it wouldn't make any more noise than was absolutely necessary.

"Here," Hogg said tossing Jackie some tubes of cam paint. Jackie nodded, and began applying the green, brown and black paints to her face and hands. She rolled down the sleeves of her tunic, and pulled the shotgun from its place on the side of her rucksack. Using the rope sling she had made for herself she strapped the 12-gauge across her back, and shoved some shotgun shells into her tactical vest.

She looked up at Hogg, who pulled out a pair of ballistics glasses with the black inserts so that they looked like sunglasses, and slowly put them on over his eyes.

"Let's go sugar," he said in a mocking tone.

Jackie punched him in the arm. Hogg started rubbing his shoulder where Jackie's fist had struck him.

"Take those off asshole, you won't be able to see shit," Jackie informed him.

"You're so mean to me," Hogg mock sobbed.

Jackie gave him the finger then started towards the cafeteria, and the way to the roof. Behind her, Hogg smiled at their bantering and began to follow his team leader. As the two soldiers passed through the cafeteria, holding their rifles by the hand guards, they tried to keep as quiet as possible to avoid waking any of the survivors sleeping in various locations throughout the room.

Jackie noticed a spot where all her friends were sleeping, curled up for warmth. Jenn however was still awake, sitting up at one of the tables and watching the two battle ready soldiers heading towards the ladder to the roof. As Jackie's and Jenn's eyes met each other they both smiled and offered small, quick waves. Then Jackie broke eye contact as she climbed onto the stage and started her climb up the ladder to the roof.

* * *

Howard and Moore were already on the roof waiting for the two. Moore was listening intently to something being said over the radio network, but Howard was simply standing with his hands behind his back.

"I want to wish you two good luck, because what you're about to do is very dangerous. It is also very courageous," the sergeant said.

"Thanks sergeant," Jackie said, and Hogg mimicked her response. Howard let a small smile cross his face, until all three heard a small 'fuck' coming from Moore.

"The police station has fallen. I don't think anyone's left," Moore reported. A look of sorrow passed across Howard's face. He had some good friends in that station.

"We can't fall. You're job is just that much more important, nothing else changes," Howard told the two troopers from Charlie team. Jackie and Hogg nodded, then started towards the wing of the school that faced the forest. Though the forest side of the school was further from the grocery store, Jackie thought it would be safer to sneak through the forest to the subdivision. It would take longer, but it helped raise their chances for survival.

They found Esau crouching near the edge of the school, cradling his rifle with attached grenade launcher and watching for any zombies that may be around. Jackie tapped his shoulder and flashed him a thumbs up, keeping communication silent now that the moment was upon them. Esau returned the gesture and pushed a rope ladder out over the edge of the roof.

Jackie went down the ladder first and quickly scuttled into the wood line and hid within the thick foliage. Hogg was not far behind her. They took a quick listening halt to make sure nothing was coming, then they took off skirting the edge of the woods but keeping within the trees to remain hidden.

They moved swiftly but their booted feet still didn't make any sounds. They were ghosts in a land of the living dead, their shadowy figures obscured by the thriving flora. They circled around the fields located behind the school. A single zombie wandered aimlessly between the yellow goal posts of the football field. It didn't notice the two soldiers rushing silently past it.

Eventually they turned with the wood line to make their may to the subdivision which the pair hoped was devoid of undead.

They reached the back fences of the houses and climbed over them without pausing. Landing in the back yard of someone's house Jackie held her hand up to signal a quick listening halt.

The subdivision was silent. Jackie looked up at the house she and Hogg were crouching behind. There was a large glass door that led into the living room. The glass was cracked and had a streak of blood running down it. The body of a young child was pushed against the door, his head broken open and blood spilling from his jaw. Jackie looked away and started skirting the fence to get to the front of the house.

While the fence had encircled the rear of the property, the front was left exposed. Jackie crouched behind a bush looking out across the street.

There was no movement, no sound. A car had crashed into one of the street lights, crushing the front and smashing the windshield. The driver's side door had been ripped off and was laying a few feet away from the door. The person who had been driving had been all but torn apart. Their head smashed against the steering wheel, their stomach torn open revealing mostly devoured organs. The man's limbs had been either torn off or chewed straight down to the gleaming white of the bone. His face had been clawed away, and his throat ripped out.

Jackie flicked her hand to signal to Hogg that they were crossing the street to cross through someone else's yard. The more they stayed off the roads, the less chance they had of being spotted.

As the pair passed by the car the man looked up at them, and stared at them with one remaining eye. The zombie opened its mouth to growl but no sound came from its destroyed throat. It tried to grab at them with its one remaining arm but the seatbelt of the car held the creature in place.

Charlie team ignored it and continued on their way, passing into another yard. They went straight into the back and climbed over the fence, finding themselves in the backyard immediately behind that house. They continued in this fashion for a few blocks until they found themselves in the employees parking lot to the strip mall. Jackie quickly located the rear door to the Bennett's grocery store.

Jackie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She looked over at her partner. Hogg nodded his head gravely. It was one of the first times Jackie had ever seen Hogg so serious. Jackie nodded back, and then started towards the store entrance.

She quietly pushed the door open, holding her rifle with one hand she entered the storage room with Hogg right behind her, his rifle in the meat of his shoulder ready to fire. Neither of them could hear any movement behind the stacks of boxes.

Jackie started walked in a half crouch towards the door that would lead to the main section of the store. Proceeding carefully Jackie took a quick peek at what little she could see. She didn't see any zombies so started moving a little further from the safety of the storage room. Hogg wasn't far behind watching down some of the other aisles. Jackie moved towards the front of the store to make sure that it was clear enough to get the ML in to load it up.

She could feel her heart beating steadily within her chest, almost in her throat. Sweat coated her palms. As she moved towards the entrance she tried to calm herself down. She was too busy concentrating on herself, so that when she passed the last aisle the lunging zombie caught her by surprise. Her rifle slipped from her slick hands and clattered to the floor.

The force of the lunge sent Jackie to the floor with the zombie on top of her. She managed to react quickly enough to get her hands on the creature's throat and shoulder, pushing it up from her, and more importantly, keeping its teeth away from her flesh. Hogg heard the rifle hit the floor and came running.

"Fuck," he muttered harshly.

"Get this prick off of me," Jackie told Hogg, keeping her voice level and low.

Hogg walked up to the wrestling pair, shifted his grip on his rifle, then swung it viciously towards the zombie's neck. The butt of the weapon connected solidly, sending a loud crack echoing through the empty aisles of the grocery store. The zombie flopped to Jackie's side hitting it's head solidly against the floor.

Jackie jumped to her feet and brought her boot down on the undead creature's head a few times to ensure it was dead. She proceeded to pick up her rifle and turned to face Hogg, breathing heavily. A few strands of hair that had escaped her braid hung down in front of her face.

"You know, if you cut your hair not only would it not get in your face like that, but you'd fit in with the guys better, not that you don't anyway," Hogg pointed out.

"I like… my goddamned… hair," Jackie said in between breaths.

"Okay, point taken. So you can be a little vain. Anyway, lets get this over with, I'd rather be back at the school," Hogg said, raising his hands as a peace offering.

"Yeah, point taken," Jackie said with a smile. She let her eyes drift back to the zombie laying on the floor, and noticed the black fingerless gloves on the ghoul's hands. A thought came to her mind as she bent down beside the corpse.

"What are you doing?" Hogg asked, but Jackie answered his question by pulling the gloves off the zombie's hands, pulling some skin off the dead creature's bones with a slight squishing sound.

"That's fucking gross! You're sick, you know that?" Hogg burst out. Jackie merely shrugged as she pulled the dead skin from the inside of the gloves and slipped them on.

"Lucky me, perfect fit. Plus they'll help with my grip," Jackie said, testing her hold on the pistol grip of her rifle.

Hogg shook his head in disgust.

The two carefully approached the entrance, where they looked out through the window to look out into the parking lot. There were only a few zombies wandering around, none of which had been attracted by the scuffle near the back of the store.

Both soldiers grabbed a grocery cart each and slung their rifles. They went down the aisles grabbing canned goods, and non-perishable food items. In one particular aisle Jackie grabbed a few stacks of toilet paper, some soap, and an armful of tampon boxes, upon which Hogg shot her an odd look.

"Trust me, we need these," Jackie said holding up on the boxes. Hogg rolled his eyes and continued down the aisle.

After about a half hour of browsing Hogg and Jackie were finally satisfied with their grab and Jackie pulled the small radio out of the pouch reserved for holding C9 ammo on her tactical vest.

"04 alpha this is 04 charlie. Ready for pickup, over" Jackie said.

"04 charlie, affirmative, we're on the way, over," Moore's voice came quietly over the radio.

"Affirmative, out," Jackie said, and put the radio away.

She and Hogg wheeled the carts towards the front entrance of the store, and waited for the truck to arrive. After only a few minutes Jackie saw it pulling into the parking lot, the zombies immediately started after it.

"Lets go," Jackie said, and the two pushed their carts out into the parking lot. Some of the zombies noticed them and started running towards them. The two soldiers released their carts and started firing at the zombies. Shooting down the ones that were an immediate threat first, and then shifting aim to the ones close enough to the truck to be a bother.

"Let's go," Jackie yelled grabbed the cart and pushing it in a headlong dash for the idling ML.

Moore had gotten out the passenger side and was firing at the zombies rushing towards the truck, giving Charlie team a needed lull. When they reached the rear of the truck they pulled down the rear hatch and worked together to lift the carts up into the rear holding bay. After that they jumped up themselves and closed the hatch behind them.

One the hatch was shut Moore got back inside and Howard slammed on the gas, and spun the wheel to turn the truck completely around. They started back towards the road that would lead directly to the school. The zombies were still chasing them however.

Jackie pulled the shotgun off her back, and shoved it roughly against the face of a zombie who had jumped up onto the back of the truck. She squeezed the trigger and the undead creature flew off the back with most of its head missing.

Jackie wiped the splatter of gore from her face with her sleeve. Hogg was laughing manically at the zombie Jackie had shot. Jackie just picked her rifle back up, and started to fire again, ensuring the zombies stayed a good distance from the truck.

* * *

Back at the school Bravo was still on watch. Esau stood as tall as he could to look down the road, while Upton was crouched behind the C9.

"Here they come," Esau said, catching a faint glimpse of the truck.

Upton grabbed the action, and cocked it back viciously, before letting it slide forward again. He put his right hand on the butt of the weapon while his left was wrapped around the pistol grip, finger steady on the trigger.

The truck turned wildly into the drive leading up and around to the back of the school. Dozens of zombies were not far behind it, running at full tilt, their rotting hands reaching for the truck. Occasionally one would fall from a bullet to the head as Jackie and Hogg shot them, but Upton and Esau both knew the two soldiers would not have too good of aim inside a speeding truck.

Upton squeezed his trigger, and kept it pressed back. A torrent of bullets started striking the zombies. Though not all the rounds were even near the head, the force of the bullets was enough to slow their momentum.

Esau opened the barrel of his under slung grenade launcher, and pulled one of the high explosive grenades from his bandolier. He placed it in the barrel and slammed it shut. He flipped up the leaf sight, and aimed towards the slowed zombies, unable to keep up with the truck any longer.

"Grenadier firing," Esau yelled out as loud as he could, and pulled the grenade launcher's trigger.

The weapon kicked solidly against Esau's shoulder and with a solid 'thunk' the grenade flew towards its target. The 40mm projectile struck the ground in the midst of the largest group of zombies and exploded. Immediately a cloud of dust burst into the air, while limbs and chunks of meat flew out from the cloud.

"Boo ya mother fuckers!" Esau yelled out happily, opening the barrel again and letting the empty casing of the grenade fall to the roof. He shut it again and fired off the action to clear the weapon.

As the dust cleared both Upton and Esau could see the remains of the zombies, and the blood spattered everywhere. One was still alive, crawling along the pavement, its lower half gone, and its intestines dragging along behind it. Esau shouldered his weapon and used the C7 to put a bullet in the creature's brain. It's brain splattered across the ground and it was still. Esau smiled before running over to the rear entrance of the cafeteria usually reserved for restocking the school's kitchens in normal times.

Once he got there he saw Fetzner and Andre lowering a makeshift elevator, then lifting it again to bring up one of the grocery carts. They pulled it away and lowered the lift system again. They pulled up the next grocery cart, then pushed the rope ladder over the edge so the soldiers could climb up.

There were a few pops from the C7s, but they were drowned out by the roar of a 12-gauge.

"Holy shit! Hunter brought her shotgun," Fetzner said, as Howard climbed over the edge of the roof, then Moore, then Hogg. When the first three were up they leaned over the edge to cover Hunter's ascent.

Jackie crawled onto the roof, shotgun in one hand, C7 slung across her back. She rolled over onto her back and looked up at the sky; blood was spattered across her entire front.

Esau held out a hand, and Jackie took it. Esau pulled her to her feet, before noticing the leather gloves on his friend's hands.

"Where did you get those?" Esau asked.

"You really do not want to know," Hogg said, and a look of disgust passed across Esau's features.

"You hardcore bitch! You took those off a zombie didn't you?" Andre bellowed.

"Yeah, and thanks," Jackie answered with a twisted smile.

"Yeah well, lets get some sleep, we did it Hunter," Hogg said, and started pumping his fist into the air, hoping on his toes and making the beat box techno sounds that he loved so much. Jackie couldn't help but laugh.

"Get the food inside, then get some rest," Howard said to the two soldiers of Charlie team.

Hogg stopped his dance immediately, and started pushing one of the grocery carts towards the ladder. Jackie took the other one, while Fetzner took the elevator system he and Andrew had developed.

Hogg started down the ladder, while Jackie and Fetzner used to the elevator to lower the food down to Hogg. When it was lowered Fetzner brought the entire elevator system back up and brought it back to the edge of the roof where it might be needed again. Jackie nodded to him, and went down the ladder.

Once down inside the cafeteria she helped Hogg lift the carts off the stage, then the two pushed the food over to the room that accessed the kitchens. Quietly opening the door so as not to wake any of the sleeping refugees, they pushed the food and supplies directly into the kitchens.

"Night Hunter," Hogg said, and immediately went off towards his cot, leaving Jackie alone.

Once Hogg was gone Jackie took her helmet off and set in gently on a nearby shelf. She ran her hands through her hair, then proceeded to pull it loose, letting it fall naturally just past her shoulders. She stood in the dark, pushing her hands through her hair.

She heard quiet footsteps behind her, approaching her carefully. Jackie let a smile cross her features, just as Caity's arms slowly slipped around her waist and she placed her chin on Jackie's shoulder.

"Hey hun," Caity said quietly. Jackie turned so that she was facing her love, and wrapped her own arms around Caity, and pulled her close. Finally she felt safe again.


	6. Scavenger Run

**_Author's Note:_** Another long wait I know... but I do have school and work sucking up free time. Anyway, because of the wait its another long chapter (for me anyway). Hopefully this will be the new average chapter length. Enjoy your reading.

**Chapter 6: Scavenger Run**

The food had been welcomed with open arms by the refugees within the school, but Howard and Sam both made clear to everyone about strict rationing to stretch the length of time until another run would be required. None of the soldiers wanted to risk their lives more than necessary.

The females in the school were especially thankful to Jackie.

Right now Charlie team was on watch, and so Jackie and Hogg contented themselves with lazily sitting near the edge of the roof, watching the bloodthirsty zombies below.

"Look at those rotting bastards down there. Why can't they just leave?" Hogg complained, for the fifth time since the two had started their watch.

"Cause we're here, and we're food," Jackie answered once again, almost subconsciously. Her eyes scanned the crowd, searching the creatures for anyone she may have known. She started thinking of her parents, were they dead? Or did they make it to one of the rescue stations? Or were they hiding out on their own? Jackie wasn't sure, so she looked over the walking carcasses milling about the school.

There weren't too many. Not enough to be overrun, but more than enough to be dangerous.

Then she saw the police officer. His lower jaw was missing, and his tongue flapped uselessly against his throat. Blood coated his dark blue uniform, which hung off his body in tatters.

"Why the hell is there a police officer here?" Jackie asked no one in particular.

Hogg found the officer as well.

"Oh shit, you know what this means?" Hogg said.

"Maybe, but tell me anyway so I'm sure," Jackie said, tilting her head backwards to look at Hogg.

"If one cop from the police station, which is downtown, shows up here, what's stopping the other zombies from that area from coming over for a visit," Hogg explained.

"Fuck!" Jackie said, snapping her head back to its normal position. She looked at the officer again, before raising her rifle to her shoulder and putting the optical sight to her eye. She centered the aiming post over the ghoul's face and slowly squeezed the trigger, while holding her breath.

The shot of the rifle surprised her as the bullet sped towards its target and broke into the zombie's skull and shattered the back of its head sending its brains out behind it in a mess of red and gray gore. Jackie slowly released the trigger, letting it click back into position and started breathing again.

"Nice shot," Hogg said absent mindedly.

"We have to tell the sergeant about this," Jackie said standing up and pulling the radio from her C9 pouch. She held the communications device near her ear and pushed the talk button.

"Houston, we have a problem," Jackie exclaimed.

* * *

Jackie stood with one foot on the very edge of the roof, her left forearm resting on her knee, rifle held snugly in both hands. Sergeant Howard stood to her right arms crossed over his chest as he stared out into the horde and Sam to her left shaking his head slightly. Hogg was patrolling around the edge of the roof checking on zombies trying to get through the barricades.

"There's some more," Jackie said, indicating some undead police officers by pointing with the muzzle of her rifle.

"Shit," Howard said mildly, Sam's eyes were wide with fear.

"What do we do?" he asked, voice high in fear.

"Nothing for the time being, just means we'll have to be more careful," Howard said, throwing a glance towards Jackie, who flexed her newly gloved hands. The sergeant shook his head again; he had heard the story of where Hunter had gotten the gloves.

"Okay, as long as your sure," Sam said, and he and Howard turned from the roof's edge and started towards the entrance to the school.

Jackie looked up at the mid morning sun as the voices of the rescue station's leaders faded from hearing.

Jackie found herself staring at the sun again, and ignoring the bloody remains of humanity throwing themselves against the barricades below. The blazing orb of fire was beginning its slow descent to the far horizon to bring the calm of night.

A hand set upon Jackie's shoulder. She looked back into Fetzner's face. He wore a gentle smile.

"Time for your patrols," he said quietly. Jackie returned the smile and started towards the ladder that would lead into the school. Fetzner watched her go, before turning his eyes back to the undead.

His gaze had only settled on them for a few moments before he turned his attention towards the heavens, to watch the beautiful scene of the setting sun as it threw rich reds and oranges across the sky. He hadn't seen sunsets like this since back in Vancouver.

The machine gunner settled himself to watch the light show offered by nature.

* * *

Jackie walked silently through the halls near the gym, checking each of the barricaded doors. She could hear balls bouncing in the gym as the refugees tried to entertain themselves. The room had been converted back to its original use once most of the wounded had been treated. The new infirmary was located just off of the cafeteria.

Other than the sounds from the gym, and the echoes of Jackie's footsteps, the halls were quiet. With a low sigh Jackie started back towards the lobby; this wing of the school was secure.

Just as Jackie walked into the lobby, and saw Bravo team snoring on their cots, the lights cut out very abruptly. There were screams of fright from the cafeteria, which woke Bravo team.

"What the fuck is going on? Where are the lights?" Esau called out.

With a single curse Jackie reached into the pocket on her tactical vest holding her small flashlight. She flicked it on, and quickly saw Hogg's turn on further down the hall. The light grew brighter as he ran up to the lobby to meet with his team mate.

"Shit's hit the fan hasn't it?" Hogg asked.

"Yeah…," Jackie said, letting her sentence trail off.

* * *

Within a few minutes, Alpha, Bravo and Charlie teams were hunkered down over a map with Sam and a man named David. Jackie held her flashlight above the map so everyone could see. David was pointing at his where his house was located.

"I left the back door open as I ran, so you can get in through there. The generator and the gas is stored in the basement, there's a door just off of the kitchen," David explained, indicated with a small hand drawn map he had done up.

"Good, how much fuel is there?" Howard asked the refugee.

"Enough to last my house a week or two, here… maybe a couple of days," David said.

"Not very long, hopefully power goes back up… doubtful but we can still hope," Sam muttered to himself.

"Agreed. Thank you, you two can go now," Howard told the two civilians. His eyes trailed after them as they left. Once he was sure they were out of earshot he looked around at his available soldiers.

"Bravo is going. Quick, and quiet. Mark your maps, prep quickly. I want that generator ASAP," Howard commanded.

"Yes sergeant," Esau and Upton said. They pulled a map out of their pockets, marked where David's house was, then went back to their cots to do a quick prep.

"Charlie, your still on patrol, you're rest is going to have to wait a little while I'm afraid," Howard said.

"Yes sergeant," Jackie and Hogg said together, their sense of duty overriding any disappointment that may have otherwise been thick in their voices.

Behind them Esau and Upton started towards the cafeteria, having very hastily thrown on their camouflage. They were bringing very little equipment; speed was of the essence, and David's house was at least a half hour's walk under normal conditions. With the undead roaming everywhere it could take hours to make it safely to their objective.

"Good luck guys," Jackie called after the two.

While flashed a smile and disappeared into the cafeteria. Esau paused for a moment and looked back at his friend, who met his gaze evenly.

"See you when we get back," he said simply and then he was gone as well.

* * *

Jackie and Hogg sat on their respective cots while Howard and Moore went up to the roof. The two soldiers of Charlie team used duct tape coloured in hunter's camouflage to attach their small flashlights to the bottom hand guards of their rifles.

"Ha, ha! Duct tape mod!" Hogg said with a grin causing Jackie to let out a small laugh.

"Fuck off with the Doom 3 references, would ya!" Jackie said only half seriously, causing Hogg's grin to grow wider. Jackie waited for her comrade's retort.

A scream echoed through the school, emanating from the tech wing. As soon as the sound hit her ears Jackie was on her feet, rifle aimed down the hallway, the bright beam of the flashlight piercing the darkness left behind by the power outage.

"I don't see anything," Hogg said, his own weapon aimed down the hallway.

"Me neither, let's go check it out," Jackie said coolly.

One of the refugees opened the door to the cafeteria to see what was going on. Upon seeing the two armed soldiers moving cautiously towards the tech wing he took a single step out, his curiosity overcoming them.

"Get back in that room!" Jackie barked, and the survivor immediately ducked back into his sanctuary.

Jackie and Hogg continued down the side hall, the butts of their rifles placed solidly in the meat of their shoulders, the muzzles aimed squarely at the corner around which the scream had sounded from. The light from the flashlights peeled back the darkness, allowing the two soldiers to see, but anywhere not touched by the beam of their flashlights was encased in an inky blackness.

Jackie could feel her heart pounding in her chest, her blood pumping through her veins. Her breathing was still level and calm, but she could feel sweat collecting underneath the leather of her gloves. As she and Hogg came closer to the corner, they cold hear the wet sounds of flesh being torn from bones. Hogg noticed a thick trail of blood on the floor, which he pointed out to his partner.

Jackie jumped around the corner, her flashlight illuminating the decomposing zombie kneeling beside the corpse of David. The young man had been brutally slaughtered. His chest was torn open so that the ghoul could chew at the organs beneath the now broken ribs.

"Holy Christ," Hogg shouted as he came around the corner right behind Jackie.

They both fired their weapons at the same time, their bullets utterly destroying the zombie's head. The creature's body stayed on its knees for a few seconds before toppling to the floor, gore spreading in a chunky pool around it to intermingle with the blood seeping from David's open chest.

"Watch the body," Jackie said, jumping over the gruesome pile of bodies and landing on the floor at a run towards the barricaded doors at the end of the hall. The echo of her boots slamming against the floor with each step filled her ears until she got closer to the barricades. The hungry growling of the undead began to drown out every other sound. Their rotting hands reached through a large hole in the wood and steel. One creature was trying to climb through.

"Fuckers, stay out!" Jackie yelled, swinging the butt of her rifle, striking the creature in the forehead solidly. Its head snapped back, and Jackie brought the weapon down at its head again pushing its head further back and snapping its neck. The corpse slumped down halfway through the opening. The other creatures pulled the corpse back and tried to crawl in themselves.

Jackie started to fire her weapon on full automatic, emptying an entire magazine of bullets into the creatures behind the door. A single shot from further down the hall told Jackie that Hogg had killed David for the second time. He came up beside her to help hold back the undead.

"What the fuck is going on?" Howard's voice roared from down the hall.

"They're breaking through!" Hogg shouted as Jackie let out a bloodthirsty scream of rage.

Reacting immediately, Howard and Moore ducked into the rooms holding extra steel and wood and started bringing the materials over.

"Push them back," Howard yelled, trying to break through Jackie's clouded mentality. She blinked, pushing back her fury, getting control again. Using the butt of the rifle again she started bashing the creatures back, allowing Hogg, Moore and Howard to get the barricade replacements in place and securing them.

Gunshots began to sound from the rooftop as Delta team fired down at the zombies trying to break in. Jackie felt a warm splash across her face as a zombie's head burst open, splattering the contents of its skull within the school hall. She quickly wiped the gore away from her eyes with her sleeve, and continued beating back the undead.

Eventually the hole was closed again. Jackie's chest heaved with exertion as the adrenaline slowly ran out of her system, allowing fatigue to settle in. The muscles in her arms throbbed, and a headache was forming just behind her eyes.

"Fucking hell," she groaned backing up against the wall, and slowly sliding down the cold stone so she rested on the floor. She set her rifle down beside her and rubbed her temples with the tips of her fingers.

"You okay?" Hogg asked with concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Jackie muttered quietly in reply.

"Good, we need to get those bodies out of here," Howard said, indicating the two corpses further down the hall with his chin.

"Yes sergeant," Jackie said, getting to her feet and slinging her rifle across her back. She walked down the hall with Hogg, reaching into one of the pouches on her tactical vest. She pulled out a small bottle of pills. Though the bottle said aspirin, there was more than that within. She shook some Tylenol from the small white bottle before capping it and shoving back in its pouch. She popped the pills in her mouth and washed them down with a swig from her canteen.

"Jesus Hunter, you keep everything on you don't you?" Hogg said, part question part observation.

"Everything I really need. Especially in a situation like this," Jackie responded as she came to a stop just before the two corpses. There was now a neat hole where David's nose had once been. Jackie bowed her head for a moment, showing some respect for the man.

"Okay grab his feet, I'll grab his shoulders," Jackie said, hooking her hands underneath the dead man's armpits.

"Fuck you are so gross. Why couldn't we get something to carry him on?" Hogg complained.

"This is faster, now are you going to help or not?" Jackie said simply, looking up at her fire team partner.

"Fuck me," Hogg mock sobbed with a disgusted expression as he wrapped his hands around the man's ankles. The two soldiers lifted the body from the ground, and began to move to the cafeteria, where they would then move the body to the roof and throw him over the edge.

They were about to open the cafeteria doors when Moore came running up to them holding a rain poncho in his hands.

"At least cover up the fucking body, the refugees don't need to see that," he scolded.

* * *

Caity and Jenn sat at their table playing a quick game of cards. Megan and Mandee sat beside them, watching intently, and taking bets with peanuts on who would win. Neither could own up to the bets as they would continually eat the peanuts before giving them up. However the smiles on all four of their faces never reached their eyes. The were tired, hungry despite the new food, cold, and they missed their other friends and their families, most of whom were definitely dead. Either laying somewhere in their own blood or shambling about looking for living flesh.

The lives they were living now were cheap imitations of everything they had had before. Now they were simply living, and playing cards. Though they wouldn't voice it, all of them were getting tired of simply living, they wanted to do something.

Then the door opened. They looked over out of curiosity, and their heads perked up when they saw Jackie. Then they saw the olive drab poncho being carried between her and her friend Hogg.

"It's a body," Jenn observed, noting the blood dripping from underneath the poncho and drawing a line across the cafeteria. The four girls could feel their spirits droop a bit upon the discovery of what the poncho hid. The two soldiers set the body down at the foot of the ladder that led to the roof, and left.

They returned within a few minutes carrying another poncho draped corpse. Jackie climbed the ladder and threw down a rope. Everyone in the cafeteria stared onwards with horrified fascination as the two bodies were raised to the rooftop.

"Will we be going up there?" Megan asked seriously.

"Hopefully not," Jenn said evenly, and turned back to her card game.

* * *

Jackie and Hogg pulled the poncho off David's corpse.

"Holy Jupiter's Balls!" Andre yelled bringing a hand up to his nose as if expecting it to smell rotten. The body was too fresh to smell bad yet, though that was more than Jackie could say for the zombie's corpse.

She and Hogg grabbed David's body by the shoulder's and feet again. They lifted him about a foot off the ground, then began to swing him back and forth.

"1… 2… 3!" Jackie counted, her and Hogg releasing the body on '3' to let it sail over the edge of the roof to land on the ground below with a dull thud. Jackie let out a deep sigh, then looked over at the second body.

"Fucking zombies," she said.

* * *

The light of moon illuminated the rooftop, and the four soldiers awaiting the return of their four comrades. Moore and Howard had just left with the truck to pick up Bravo and the generator.

The sound of a truck came from down the road.

"Here they come," Fetzner said, standing on the edge of the roof holding a pair of binoculars to his eyes. His C9 sitting on the edge of the roof, right beside Upton's, which he had left behind. Jackie had Upton's weapon gripped firmly in her capable hands, eye looking through the optical sight. She couldn't see as clearly as Fetzner, but she could still see the truck speeding down the road.

"Fuck they have a good tail, Andre here," Fetzner shouted out tossing the binoculars to the master corporal and dropping behind his own C9.

"Time to fucking rock and roll bitches!" Jackie yelled, cocking the action of the LMG, chambering a round. She couldn't keep the grin off her face.

Fetzner signaled to Hogg, who let a wild grin cross his face. Jackie glanced behind her curiously. Hogg had set up his MP3 player with speakers. They were a good quality of speakers as well. He pressed the play button, and Drowning Pool's 'Let the Bodies hit the Floor' began to play.

"Nice," Jackie said, turning back to the fast approaching truck and the zombies.

Andre stood just behind the two gunners, watching the undead through his binoculars. Hogg stood beside them, rifle in his shoulder, ready to pick off the stragglers from the firestorm that was about to erupt on the ghouls.

The truck's tires squealed as it turned into the drive that led behind the school. The zombies pursued.

"Blast those mother fuckers to hell!" Andre commanded, just as the song reached its crescendo behind them.

Fetzner and Jackie squeezed their triggers at the same time, and immediately rounds began to pound from the roof down to the zombies. The tracer rounds Upton and Fetzner had put in their belts lit up the night, zipping through the zombie's bodies and tearing them apart. Limbs and chunks of meat flew through the air along with the gouts of blood.

Andre was laughing like a madman at the carnage below.

"Look at those poor fuckers down there," he laughed, truly enjoying himself.

The truck pulled up against the school. Andre ran over to help with the lift. He called back for someone to help. Hogg ran after him.

Jackie's machine gun clicked on empty. She lifted the feeding tray, and threw the spent box behind her. Grabbed one of the fresh ones she had set beside her, and clipped it into place. She took the end of the belt hanging out of the box, slapped it onto the feeding tray, and slammed the tray closed. She cocked the action again and started firing, just as Fetzner started his own reload.

"Goof, I think this may be worse than we thought," Fetzner told Jackie, using the nickname he had created for her on basic.

"I know what you mean," Jackie said, gunning down a tightly clustered group of three zombies. The third one's head had been missed, and it started crawling across the ground, the ruined remains of its legs trailing behind it. Jackie ended its existence with a quick burst.

The undead were more spread out now, making it more difficult to kill them. Over at the edge where the lift was being lowered Hogg and Andrew were firing round down at the creatures.

"Fuck, Fetzner go over and help them, I'll try and stem the tide here," Jackie said.

Fetzner nodded, picked up all his shit and ran over to the other position. Jackie stayed where she was, firing a continuous stream of 5.56 mm bullets into the zombies. The gun clicked empty again.

"Shit," Jackie said, cocking the action and placing it on safe. She crawled forward slightly, and pulled the steaming barrel off, being careful only to touch the black handle. She set it off to the side where she wouldn't touch it, then pulled the spare barrel, out of its bag sitting at her side. She slid it into place, made sure it was secure, then reloaded her weapon.

Most of the zombies were past her now, so she picked up her weapon and began to run along the edge of the rood, firing as she went. Hot brass ejected from the side, landing on the roof top and bouncing along the concrete. Jackie ignored them as she ran, being careful with her footing; it would not do to fall off the roof.

Fetzner's C9 began to fire down at the zombies crowding around the truck. Jackie could hear him screaming out in frustration at the frenzied ghouls. He aimed his shots carefully, being sure not to hit Bravo in the back of the truck, the generator being pulled up to the roof, or the truck itself. Moore and Howard were still in the front, fending zombies off with their rifles, as were Upton and Esau. Upton used the rifle Andre had given him in exchange for leaving the C9 behind.

The were forced to use the butts of their weapons to push the creatures back away from them and into Fetzner's withering fire.

"Its up!" Hogg called out as he and Andre pulled the generator off the lift and onto the roof. They dropped the rope ladder over the edge.

"Get the zombies clear of the truck so Howard and Moore can get up," Jackie yelled, coming up beside Fetzner and directing her own fire along the side of the truck, not necessarily trying to kill the zombies, simply trying to push them away and clear a path for Alpha. Upton jumped onto the ladder as Esau covered him, making sure nothing grabbed for him. As Upton pulled himself onto the roof, he turned and returned the favor for Esau, allowing the second soldier of Bravo team to pull himself up.

Howard kicked the truck door open, and butt stroked a zombie to the face, cracking its face open. He began to run for the ladder, dodging the very few zombies left near the truck. He began to climb up the ladder agile enough to deny his years. Moore had jumped out right behind him, shot a few zombies and stayed right on the sergeant's heels.

The much younger soldier was climbing the ladder when a zombie grabbed his foot, and bit down on his heel. Moore screamed, and kicked with his other foot, holding himself up with just his arms. When his boot connected with the top of the zombie's head, it stumbled backwards, it's grip released. Moore scrambled up the ladder and threw himself onto the roof; collapsing in a heap breathing heavily.

Jackie, who had already given Upton his C9 back, aimed her rifle at Moore's head. Fetzner saw this and his eyes went wide.

"How could you shoot a comrade so easily?" he asked.

"If I can shoot a little girl in front of her mother, I can do this," Jackie said, then looked down at Moore's foot. She frowned and kneeled by it. What she saw made her laugh whole heartedly.

"Moore you dumb ass! It's teeth didn't get through your boot," Jackie said, relief spilling through her as she laughed it all away.

Moor looked down at his foot in disbelief as the other started laughing at him. It was deep a rich laughter from all of them. They had made it back safe once again, despite almost losing one of their own.

"Bravo, get the generator downstairs then get some rack. Delta, your go for patrols. Charlie, stay up here on watch," Howard said, getting control of the situation again.

With a final burst of laughter Jackie got to her feet. She clapped Moore on the shoulder as she passed him to help lower the generator. Once everyone had left, Jackie found herself alone on the roof with Hogg for the second time that day. She wandered over to the edge of the roof and looked down at the zombies below, reaching up to try and get her meat.

"Are we going to die here?" Hogg asked after a few moments.

Jackie didn't answer.


	7. Regiment's Fall

**Chapter 7: Regiment's Fall**

Pte Legacy walked through the lobby of Kingston General Hospital, his eyes nervously scanning the shadows. He had never liked the dark. It wasn't that he was afraid of it, rather he was afraid of what could be hiding within the dark. That fear had only increased since the dead had started to rise.

If zombies were real, what about all the other monsters from the old movies. Could they be real as well? His mind said that they were impossible, but his imagination told him that they were lurking in the gloom all around him.

He gripped his rifle tighter as he walked across the lobby. His heart skipped a beat when he heard footsteps down the hall. He shouldered his rifle and looked at the door from where the sounds were coming. His hand began to shake, he didn't know what was coming.

The door opened and Legacy almost fired before recognizing his fellow sentry, Boyce. Boyce jumped a bit upon seeing the rifle pointed at his face.

"Jesus Christ Legacy. Settle down," Boyce called out ducking slightly and raising a hand protectively in front of his face.

Letting out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, Legacy lowered the rifle. Boyce stood and walked over to his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax man, those things out there can't get in," Boyce consoled, pointing with his free hand towards the barricaded doors of the hospital lobby.

A moment of silence came between the two, deep enough that they could hear the zombies pounding furiously at the barricades.

"See, they'll just keep pounding away. We could get away with sleeping. Now just relax buddy," Boyce said, starting to walk away.

Legacy nodded, pushing all the sounds that fueled his imagination to the back of his mind. Boyce was almost at the door when he suddenly stopped and looked behind him. He blinked a few times, and Legacy met his gaze. There was confusion in Boyce's eyes.

"Is the pounding getting louder?" he asked, then shook his head, dismissing it as bullshit, until a very loud knock came at the barricaded door.

Boyce cocked his head to the side and walked over to the entrance. He placed his ear up against the wood to listen, but instead felt it shake, and heard it crack.

"Fuck!" he yelled jumping away from the door, just as a rotten hand punched through it and grabbed him by the shirt. The hand pulled, slamming Boyce against the wood, the front of his helmet preventing him from smashing his face.

"Legacy get help," Boyce yelled.

Legacy was still with panic for a moment, until Boyce managed to tear himself free, his fatigues ripping open.

"Legacy wake up! Get help," Boyce screamed. Another hand reached through the hole as he tried to get away. This time it grabbed him by the arm, and pulled violently, just as another hole was punched through the barricade and another zombie's arm reached through to grab Boyce's opposite shoulder.

Legacy grabbed his radio and started screaming into it for help, forgetting all about proper radio procedure. He looked up to see his friend's arm pulled through the hole, and Boyce began to scream. He started to pull violently, ripping his arm from the hole and throwing his blood across the lobby. There were large chunks taken from his arm, exposing the glistening white of the bones of his forearm.

Boyce fell to the floor, using his uninjured hand to try and stifle the bleeding, but it just kept flowing.

Legacy turned his rifle onto full auto and sprayed bullets through the wood, hoping to blindly hit some of the zombies outside. He kept his finger on the trigger, the muzzle flash lighting the lobby. Splinters of wood flew from the barricade as the rifle rounds went through them. Boyce was still on the floor, cuddled into a small ball.

Legacy's weapon clicked on empty. He stared at the barricades with his finger still squeezing the trigger. After a few seconds, and noticing the zombies had started up their assault again Legacy reloaded, and hoped that help would arrive soon.

He ran forward to help Boyce.

"Come on buddy, we have to get going," Legacy said, kneeling beside Boyce's quaking form. He thought he heard his friend sobbing with pain.

"Boyce man, come on," Legacy said, resting the butt of his rifle on the ground and extending his free hand.

Boyce lunged, his jaws biting down around Legacy's fingers and taking them off. Legacy screamed out in pain and fell backwards. Boyce pounced with a growl, tackling Legacy so that he was on his back.

With tears flowing from his eyes Legacy tried to push his best friend off of him with bloodied stumps. The agony tore through him as he pushed on Boyce's shoulders. Boyce was scratching at Legacy's face, digging deep furrows through his skin, and piercing clean through the left cheek. One of Boyce's fingers tore through the retina of Legacy's eye. Their blood mingled as they wrestled for Legacy's life. Boyce however was starting to get closer to victory. With each snap of his jaws they were closer to Legacy's throat.

Boyce's head suddenly exploded, but Legacy's mind never registered the gunshot, only the splattering of brains across his face. Legacy pushed the body off of him. The other soldiers ran forward. One grabbed Legacy and dragged him to the back of the lobby, just as the zombies broke through the front barricade.

Gunfire erupted throughout the lobby as the soldiers fought desperately to keep the undead at bay.

Legacy looked up at the man who had pulled him back with his one good eye. It was Jones, who looked down with concern. The other soldier finally stood, leveling his rifle at Legacy's head who stared straight ahead towards Boyce's corpse laying on the floor.

"I'm sorry man but it's got to be done," Jones said, cocking his weapon. Legacy lazily looked up at his executioner.

The zombies were closing in on the soldiers. One lunged at one of the soldiers but tripped so that the bullets intended to hit its head missed. As the creature fell, it extended its arms and grabbed its victim around the leg, and bit down just behind the man's knee.

The soldier let out a scream as he collapsed. His rifle went wide as he squeezed the trigger and the bullet hit Jones between the shoulder blades. The front of his chest burst open with a spray of blood that spattered on the wall. Jones let out a groan as he fell to his knees, blood running from the corners of his mouth.

He looked over at Legacy before falling face down to the floor. Legacy looked at the body in sorrow, before reaching over for Jones' rifle. He pulled it over to himself. He propped the butt on the ground between his knees and put the muzzle in his own mouth.

He looked up to see his fellow soldiers getting torn apart, and what little survivors that were left try to fend off the undead. One zombie though was crawling across the battle torn hospital lobby towards Legacy.

Legacy shook his head and closed his eyes as his fingers began to tighten over the trigger of the C7 rifle. The rifle fired, the bullet going through the back of Legacy's head, and knocking his skull against the wall. His hands went limp and fell from the rifle, and he opened his eyes. Something was wrong.

Sorrow overtook him as he realized that it hadn't worked. Despite the bullet passing through his head Legacy was still very much alive, though he couldn't move. Whether that was from something physical or mental he wasn't sure. He wanted to cry but no tears would come, he wanted to scream but no sound was coming.

The zombie crawling across the floor was upon him. The ghoul grabbed his foot and pulled itself that extra distance to bring its slobbering mouth over the tip of his boot. The creature's jaws clamped shut, and it began to chew through the tough leather of Legacy's boot.

The soldier watched, as his own blood ran from the hole in his mouth, and the hole in the back of his head, the zombie chewing his toes off and moving on to the rest of his foot. Other zombies noticed the still living victim laying against the wall.

Legacy wished that death would overcome him, just as another one of the ghouls bit into his good cheek, tearing away the flesh. With nothing to support it, his jaw hung open. Blood ran all over his body, Legacy just wanted the pain to end.

A woman came closer to him, the ragged remains of a bloody t-shirt covering her remaining breast, the other nothing but a gaping red mass of torn tissue. She climbed up towards him, her bony hands pushing down on his joints. She opened her bloodied mouth and tore into Legacy's throat. As his blood spurted from the opened jugular he couldn't help but be thankful to know that it would soon be over.

* * *

The sun had started its climb into the dawn sky, the bright red painting over the dark blue of the fading night. The chill of the air was slowly being ebbed away to be replaced with a relaxing warmth, though the air still raised goose bumps. There was a slight breeze on the air that felt cold against the skin, yet still very relaxing. 

"Sailors take warning," Jackie said absently, enjoying the beautiful scene.

"Fucking rain," Hogg replied knowing the old saying that his partner was referring to.

"I know, plus the zombies below are kinda destroying the mood," Jackie said, indicating the ghouls with her helmeted head.

Hogg let out a small chuckle, before starting off to the other side of the roof to make sure the rear barricades were still secure. Jackie looked over the edge of the roof, a fair sized rock clutched in her hand. The zombies below were trying to get in through the front doors looked up, their hands reaching up in a vain attempt to grab Jackie as another victim.

Jackie spotted a zombie with glasses, and hurled it at him. The rock collided with the creature's face, snapping the glasses in half and shattering the left lens. The creature's head was knocked back, but it quickly snapped back into place and growled.

"Bitch," Jackie said, pulling back from the roof.

Hogg slowly wandered back over from where he had been patrolling.

"Fuck its cold up here," Andre said, suddenly walking beside Hogg who jumped slightly at the master corporal's voice. Fetzner laughed from the ladder he was climbing up.

"Relief eh?" Jackie asked from her position near the edge.

"Yeah, time for you to get some rack," Andrew said, pulling a cigarette out of one of the pockets on his tunic. He stuck it in his mouth and lit it, the flare of his lighter standing out against the low light of the dawn. As he took his first drag the red tip glared almost angrily. He let exhaled letting out a plume of smoke that drifted lazily to the sky.

"Sounds like an idea to me," Hogg said, starting towards the ladder.

"Right behind you. See you later guys," Jackie said, unloaded and clearing her rifle before slinging it and following Hogg.

"Yeah, yeah," Andre said, waving his hand dismissively, the red spark moving through the air with the motion of his hand.

Jackie didn't see the gesture though as she was already climbing down the ladder.

* * *

Jackie and Hogg stopped by the headquarters table to check in that the shift change had gone over smoothly. It was a security element that while not entirely necessary, let the sergeant know that everyone was okay. 

When the two arrived Moore was listening intently to something being said over the radio. Howard was writing in a book, whether a journal or official records Jackie didn't know. She tapped lightly on the table and Howard looked up from his book to acknowledge the two soldiers.

"Okay, get some rack you two," he said, turning back to his book.

Jackie and Hogg had just turned around and were about to walk towards their bunks when Moore suddenly threw the headpiece for the radio against the floor, hard.

"Mother fucker!" he yelled out, causing Jackie and Hogg to spin on their heels, and for the sergeant to put his book down at turn an angry gaze towards Moore.

"The hospital and LCVI have fallen. Everyone is dead, I just listened to their radiomen get eaten alive," Moore screamed out, on the edge of hysteria.

Brown was at the hospital, and Legacy, and Boyce and so many others. Jackie blinked a few times, unable to grasp the entirety of what Moore had just told her. She simply stood, she couldn't hear the sergeant talking, couldn't register anything that was happening around her.

Those had been her friends. Brown had been her trench buddy back in basic, Legacy was a damned good friend, and Boyce had been a hoot to go drinking with. Jones told the funniest jokes, Cannon had always been a good friend. They were gone now though, Moore had heard the last of them die.

Something inside her snapped. Jackie cocked the action of her rifle and started towards the front doors. She would rip the barricades off and tear those undead fuckers apart with her bare hands if she had to.

A pair of hands grabbed her by the shoulders, holding her back.

"Let me the fuck go!" she yelled angrily, pulling herself free.

"Hunter, for Christ sakes settle down," Hogg cried grabbing hold of his partner again, the sergeant had come over to help. Jackie struggled fruitlessly against the two men, but she couldn't break free. Moore had come over and tore the rifle from her hands.

"Hunter settle down," Howard said, and slowly Jackie began to realize that her friends were gone. That they were dead. She stopped her struggle and felt an overwhelming sorrow overcome her. She collapsed in Hogg's arms, who managed to guide her over to her bunk.

Jackie took her helmet off and threw it as hard as she could at the courtyard window with a scream of fury. Cracks spider webbed from the point of impact, and there was a loud 'thunk' as the helmet hit the ground.

Now on her bunk Jackie curled up into a ball and started to cry as the horrors of the world she lived in caught up with her. She could feel hot tears streaming sideways down her face to soak into her sleeping bag. She could feel someone's hand resting on her quaking shoulder, but she wasn't sure who's.

"I want to be alone right now," Jackie managed to say, though very quietly.

The hand was removed from her shoulder and she heard three pairs of boots walking away from her, and leaving her to her own misery. Knowing that no one was around, Jackie buried her face into her sleeping bag and let herself release all her emotions into the olive drab sleeping bag.

* * *

All eight of the soldiers stood on the school rooftop under the midday sun. Sergeant Howard stood in front of the other seven who stood at the position of at ease. Everyone ignored the redness around Jackie's and Esau's eyes, equally out of respect and of their own emotions churning within them. 

"As you all know by now, the other two rescue stations have fallen, leaving us the last station standing in the city and surrounding area. If there are any survivors still out there, this is the only place they can only come to. Not only that, we are also the last living soldiers of the regiment. We are the last eight standing between the survivors here, and death. We still have a job to do troops, we still have a duty to commit ourselves to. So stay sharp, stay on your toes. That's all I have. Just remember not to tell the refugees anything; we don't want any panic. Dismissed," Howard said.

The troops sharply turned and walked off to their various duties. As the two soldiers on roof guard duty looked over the edge of the roof to the teeming horde of zombies Howard buried his face in his hands.

* * *

Hogg crawled inside his sleeping bag, and pulled it tight around himself. He closed his eyes, and was almost instantly asleep. 

Jackie though sat on the edge of her bunk, running her thumb along the strap of her helmet, staring at the cracks on the courtyard window that herself had made. Thoughts of times spent with her friends ran through her mind. Not just her army friends either, all those that were more than likely dead at this point. Old school buddies, her parents, everyone was missing or dead now. She didn't even know if Cody had made it back home, or if her brother was still alive.

She felt someone's presence behind her. A cascade of brunette hair spilled over her shoulder as Caity's lips placed a few soft kisses on her neck. Caity slowly encircled her arms around Jackie's chest, hugging her girlfriend close. Jackie simply leaned back and allowed Caity's presence to fill her with a feeling of calmness.

"What's wrong hun?" Caity whispered in Jackie's ear, able to tell as only a lover can, that something was wrong.

Unable to hide anything from Caity, Jackie turned to look into her eyes.

"The other two rescue stations fell this morning. Everyone is dead," Jackie said, feeling some tears begin to well in her eyes again as she spoke.

"Oh hun," Caity said, knowing exactly what feelings were running through Jackie's soul. She hugged her lover tightly, and the two shared a tender kiss. They looked into each other's eyes, seeing the love in the other.

Jackie turned her body so that she was slowly being lowered into a laying position with Caity laying somewhat on top, and somewhat beside her, head nestled on Jackie's chest, one of her hands settled gently on Jackie's hip.

"I'm still here for you," she said softly.

"I know… I love you," Jackie said.

"I love you to," Caity said, closing her eyes as Jackie's arms encircled tenderly around her, holding her close. The two slowly settled into a sleep, wrapped in each other's loving arms.


	8. The Siege

**_Author's Note:_** I believe this is the biggest chapter yet at 11 pages in Microsoft word on 12, times new roman font. I hope you all enjoy. Also for reference, CLP is the cleaning oil that the Canadian military uses.

**Chapter 8: The Siege**

Brain matter splattered across the back of the truck, and Jackie pumped her shotgun, ejecting the spent shell which bounced along the back of the ML. Hogg hurriedly piled boxes of food onto the make shift elevator.

Jackie fired another shot from her shotgun. The blast took off half a zombie's head and sent the body sprawling into the gathering crowd, but it was kept vertical by the frantic ghouls.

"Hurry up damnit," Jackie yelled, firing another shot, splashing more gore across the wall of the school and the back of the truck.

"I'm going as fast as I fucking well can," Hogg cried out, throwing another box onto the lift.

It started to rise, too full of food to take anymore up, despite the few boxes still sitting in the back of the truck. Jackie shook her head impatiently, blowing the head off a zombie trying to climb up into the back of the truck. She just wanted to get the hell out.

The sound of tearing plastic reached her ears and Jackie spun to see a hole being ripped through the plastic like covering thrown over the back of the ML. She stepped over, pushed her shotgun out the hole, and squeezed the trigger, sending yet another zombie back to the grave.

"Fuckers," she muttered, turning back to the rear hatch just as the lift was being lowered again.

Hogg cracked his neck, and as soon as the lift was low enough, began piling food on it, while Jackie hastily slipped shells into her 12-gauge.

A zombie's head appeared over the rim of the tailgate, and met the bottom of Jackie's boot, sending it crashing amongst its fellow undead. Jackie fired down into the crowd, slaying the downed zombie.

"Done," Hogg called up as the last box was piled onto the lift. It rose again, and it wouldn't come back down. Jackie went to the back of the transport and banged on the rear of the cab to let Howard and Moore know that they were done. One of them banged back to acknowledge.

Hogg had pulled the rifle off his back, and fired an entire magazine on fully automatic into the creatures, killing as many as he could, while Andre and Fetzner lowered a ladder. Hogg leapt for the ladder while the zombies were recovering from his volley of lead.

Jackie had swapped the shotgun for her C7, and picked off the few zombies still behind the truck that were reaching for Hogg. She heard gunshots around the side of the truck as Howard and Moore fought their way to the ladder at the back.

"Hunter go!" Fetzner called from above.

Jackie did the same as Hogg, firing the rest of her magazine on full automatic into the quickly recovering zombies, before slinging the rifle and jumping for the ladder and climbing as fast as she could to the roof.

She threw herself over the lip of the roof, and released her breath, which she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Come on Moore," Fetzner called out, as Jackie got to her feet and positioned herself on the edge.

"Climb you pussy! Climb!" Andre called out, firing a few rounds at the zombies below.

Jackie's gaze darted over to Howard's position as she heard her sergeant let out a scream of pain. Her eyes took in the scene within a split second.

Howard had been pushed to the ground, his legs torn off at the knee, strings of muscle snapping as the ghoulish creatures pulled the limbs away from his body. Bits of broken bone protruded from the deformed meat of the stumps. The sergeant reached into the air with a bloodied hand, his rifle long forgotten on the ground behind him. A zombie's teeth clamped down around his forearm, molars grinding away the skin and tearing through the muscle to latch onto the bone.

"Jesus Christ Almighty," Hogg yelled out, as Jackie shouldered her rifle.

"Shoot the fuckers," she directed.

She and Hogg began to methodically put a round into each of the zombie's heads, clearing the undead away from Howard. Jackie looked through her sight and met Howard's gaze. All she could see was pain, sorrow, and he somehow seemed to be pleading with her.

Jackie's finger settled on the trigger. For a split second the image of the little girl back in the gym flashed in front of her eyes. She squeezed the trigger and the rifle kicked against her shoulder.

She saw the impact of the round, knocking back Howard's head and sending out a spray of gore behind him. His skull fell to the ground, connecting solidly against the concrete.

Jackie slowly lowered the rifle from her shoulder, staring at Howard's corpse even as the zombies rushed back at it, tearing the remains apart to feast. They ripped open his abdomen, pulling out long glistening strings of intestine and shoving the loops into their open mouths. The ghouls ripped off strips of flesh clenched between their teeth.

As one zombie pulled out Sgt. Howard's liver, Jackie realized what she had done. She had just killed the section commander, the one who was leading them to safety and survival. He was dead now, gone.

Hogg lowered his rifle, aiming it at the ground and holding it with one hand, while the other unclipped his helmet and let it fall to the ground. His hand went to his forehead as he stared open mouthed at the scene.

One by one the other soldiers realized exactly what had happened. Silence overtook the rooftop, so that they could all hear the grunts of the zombies below. They stared in shock and horror. Master Corporal Andre blinked. He was the new section commander. He had to get the food inside, he had to get sleep for Charlie team. All the new duties he had to do began to run through his mind, before he had even fully registered Howard's death.

"That's it… we're gonna die," Hogg said, his simple words spilling over the rest of the soldiers like a poison. Feelings of despair and hopelessness began to over come each and everyone of the troops, until even Andre was unable to think of his job anymore. All there was now was gloom. It had been Howard who kept their moral up, who knew what to do, how to react. Now he was dead.

"I don't wanna fucking die here," Moore screamed in a panic, tears welling up in his eyes.

Jackie bit her lower lip. She could feel despair, frustration, hopelessness, defeat, everything was running through her mind. She knew she had to pull out if she wanted to survive, and having Moore freak out was not going to help.

"Shut the fuck up then if you don't want to," Jackie screamed at Moore angrily.

Everyone except Moore was taken aback by the outburst. They stared at Jackie in surprise. Moore however, got just as angry as Jackie.

"Why don't you shove it dyke. What makes you all high and mighty? Why do you think you're any better than the rest of us, bitch?" Moore screamed back.

"I know I'm better than _you_ cocksucker," Jackie said taking a few steps forward, pure rage slipping over her thoughts.

"Bring it you dyke whore," Moore proclaimed, holding his arms out wide.

"Hunter don't do it," Esau said, but he was too late, and Jackie was too fast for anyone else to react. Her fist connected solidly with Moore's jaw, knocking a few teeth loose and splitting his lip. Moore fell backwards to sprawl across the rooftop.

Jackie stepped forward to continue her assault, but Hogg and Esau grabbed her, holding her back.

"I'm not a whore you disrespectful mother fucker," Jackie yelled out, she could feel tears welling up. She didn't want to admit it, but his comments had stung. She wanted to kick his face in. She had killed the little girl, even Howard, an asshole like Moore should be no problem.

"Settle down Hunter, this isn't going to help us," Esau's voice came through the fog of her anger. She finally settled down, she threw Hogg's and Esau's arms off of her. She crossed her arms over her chest and turned her back on Moore.

"You deserved it Moore now get up," Andre told the quivering form on the ground.

When he didn't react Andre turned to the rest of the troops.

"We have to get out of here," Hogg proclaimed forcing himself to be calm, to try and think.

"Okay, but how do we plan on doing that?" Fetzner put in.

"Oh I know, we could splinter cell sneak our way around the zombies, or better yet, grow wings and fly away," Upton said with a wide grin to try and hide his fear.

"Shut up, your not helping," Andre commanded, and Upton's smile disappeared.

Hogg had slung his rifle and was now massaging his forehead. He could barely think with all the emotions pushing their way through his mind, and all the yelling wasn't helping. He could feel a headache forming, but he couldn't think.

"God damnit!" Hogg yelled out suddenly, causing almost everyone to look at him, except Moore who was still struggling to get up off the ground, blood dripping from his mouth.

"We have to calm down if we're going to do anything," Andre, patting the air with downward palms.

"Calm? Our section commander was just torn apart before our eyes, Hogg is predicting our doom, Hunter is beating the shit out of Moore who's in turn whining about life. How the fuck are we supposed to be calm?" Fetzner demanded.

"Because you're fucking soldiers!" Andre screamed at the troops now fully under his command. Everyone stared at him, even Moore. Their new section commander was now standing before them, fists clenched in rage, teeth grinding together.

"Sorry Master Corporal," Fetzner muttered, shame coating his words.

"Don't say sorry, don't use my rank, this is a man to man chat we're having here," Andre said glancing at all the troops. Jackie threw him a look, she knew she was about to be the target of a big joke. At least they wouldn't be fighting amongst each other anymore.

"Always knew you were a guy Hunter," Moore said with a slight laugh, before spitting out a bloodied tooth.

"Aw, and to think of all the times I checked you out," Upton said with a look of disgust.

Jackie rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile, she was used to these guys by now. She could still feel the nervousness, but the morale and humour was creeping back in.

"Told ya you were gay Upton," Hogg said.

"I didn't know!" Upton stretched out the end of the last word into a long wail.

Everyone chuckled nervously, trying to fend off their own fear.

"We still need to get out of here. If we do stay here Hogg will be right about us dying," Jackie said, crossing her arms across her chest. Upon her words she could feel the light scab of humor torn off the wound. Hopefully this time the soldiers would be able to contain their fear enough to have a civil conversation.

"Well, where are we going to go? In case you haven't noticed, everywhere else everyone is fucking DEAD!" Moore yelled out, wiping a trail of blood from his chin with his sleeve.

"Still doesn't stop them from walking around though does it?" Hogg said in a tone that was much more statement than it was question.

Moore glared at him angrily before Andre stepped in.

"Enough," he growled, and everyone fell silent again, looking at their master corporal leader with a mix of shame of themselves and respect for him.

"Jackie is right, if we do stay here we'll just die off one by one, whether from those undead fucks or from starvation… or both. So we have to find someway to get out of here," Andre stated, and everyone nodded, slowly realizing that Jackie was right.

"Alright then, what do we do?" Upton asked, looking at Andre.

The master corporal, but before saying the dreadful words 'I don't know', he looked over at Jackie, who still stood with her hands crossed over her chest. Seeing their section commanders gaze turn towards her, everyone turned their attention to the young woman. She again felt the weight of responsibility weighing down on her shoulders.

"Recce," she said simply.

"What the fuck?" Hogg exploded, the very man who had been so supportive of the scouting missions before. That had been before the sergeant had been eaten by the enemy.

"That's fucking suicide, look what almost happened to you," Esau said, trying to reason with his friend.

"I know, but it's the only way," Jackie said with a deep sigh.

"What do you have planned Hunter?" Andre urged.

"Send two guys out in the truck to find a safe place. The rest of us hold the fort here until the two come back, report the location, and then we start ferrying survivors to that new place. I know it's dangerous, but its all I got," Jackie said, a truly sorrowful look on her face.

"It's all anyone has," Hogg admitted, standing beside his fire team partner, and putting a hand on her shoulder. Jackie smiled up at her friend, even as she looked over at Esau and matched his reassuring gaze and warm smile.

"Who's going to go," Andre asked, not of Jackie, but of the soldiers under his command. It had seemed that everyone had silently agreed on the plan being the best course of action.

"I'll go," Fetzner said, stepping forward, he almost seemed as if he were stepping forward to accept his death warrant.

"I'll go as well," Esau said, stepping up beside Fetzner. Jackie felt her stomach clench as Esau spoke. She didn't want her friend to go, but somehow, she knew he had to. This was his moment.

"Are you two sure about this?" Andre asked, matching the gazes if the two soldiers in turn.

"Yes," Esau said immediately, squaring his shoulders and lifting his chin ever so slightly.

"No… but I'm going anyway," Fetzner said in a response that was only slightly delayed.

"Alright, we have a plan," Andre said calmly.

"But-," Moore started.

"We have a plan," Andre said sternly, cutting Moore off. The younger soldier nodded solemnly, and backed away, wiping another trail of blood that had run down his chin.

"Now, we all have a duty still… Hunter, Hogg, go get some rest, Moore, you're with me and Fetzner now, we're staying up here to get this shit together. Upton, Esau, you two are going to continue the patrols through the school. Ensure each barricade is strong. Lets get this done boys," Andre commanded.

"Yes master corporal," every soldier said at once.

"Well, fucking get to it then," the section commander snapped, and each soldier scurried to their appropriate places. Jackie and Hogg were the fastest though, anxious to get some sleep.

Andre looked out over the parking lot to look at the corpse of Sergeant Howard. He hadn't even known the man's first name, but the sergeant had left a deep mark on the soldiers of the school.

* * *

Sam leaned against the wall of the cafeteria, arms crossed over his chest. His eyes followed the four soldiers that descended from the rooftop with the food supplies. The camouflaged men and woman easily, but quickly made their way to the usual drop off point, in the room where the food itself used to be sold. After that, the one named Hunter, and the one named Hogg made their way to their cots, while the soldiers Upton and Esau started off on their usual patrol routes.

Sam waited for Howard and Moore. He needed to talk to the two, to get information.

There were bags under Sam's eyes from lack of sleep, his hair was disheveled and greasy from the lack of a proper shower. He knew he had the time to take one, there were four change rooms in the school, one for senior boys, one for junior boys, another for senior girls and yet another for junior girls. The soldiers used them during their rack time to keep clean and get the blood of themselves, occasionally making a few of the refugees nervous to enter the showers. For Sam it was a combination of nervousness, laziness, and that he was too tired to think right. He had never been able to sleep properly outside of his home, but he was thinking clearly enough to continue acting as the refugee's leader.

That was why he needed to talk to Howard, to get information on the situation, so he could let everyone else know that it would be okay. He didn't understand why the soldiers were keeping information away from the civilians… maybe it was to keep them safe?

Whatever the reason Sam needed to talk to Howard, and so he waited, leaning against the back wall of the cafeteria.

Howard didn't come, almost fifteen minutes had passed and still Howard had not descended, and neither had Moore. Why were four of them still on the roof? Sam pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the ladder. He wanted answers, and he was going to get them.

He rapidly climbed the ladder, emerging into fresh air for the first time since Hunter had shown him and Howard the police officer zombie. He looked up at the sun, marveling at its beauty, before remembering why he had come up here, to this rooftop, in the first place.

He scanned the roof, and saw three of the soldiers, the second in command master corporal Andre, and two of the grunts, privates Fetzner and Moore. Yet the sergeant, the commander, Howard was no where to be found.

Sam walked over to Andre, who was busy working on the lift the soldiers had made to lift food from their truck and onto the roof. He was making it stronger, and slightly larger. Did they plan on lifting something heavier?

Andre looked up at the newcomer now blocking his sunlight in annoyance. His expression quickly changed to that of surprise once he saw who it was that was blocking the light.

"Where is Howard?" Sam demanded.

The look of annoyance again planted itself on Andre's features. He stood up, reminding the civilian how much taller he was.

"Follow me I'll show you," Andre said, with a slightly harsh tone.

Sam frowned, confused, but followed Andre anyway. Andre walked to the edge of the roof, and Sam stood next to him. A growing suspicion in his mind was coupled with a queasy feeling in his gut.

"That's where Sgt. Howard is," Andre said, pointing at a mass of flesh that was no longer recognizable as human except for the skull, covered in thick blood, and a skeletal hand protruding from the mass with strings of dark red gore dripping slowly from the fingers. The flak jacket had been ripped apart, pieces of it laying around, just as bloody as the corpse itself, his helmet lay a few feet away, upside down, with only a few splotches of crimson on it.

"Oh my god," Sam said, very quickly, before he puked over the edge of the roof. He hadn't eaten much recently, but whatever he had eaten came up in an orangeish brown mush that splattered across the zombies below. The ghouls didn't give a care, and continued to try and grab at the men above them.

Sam heard some voices behind him muttering about how he had a weak stomach. There was no respect in those voices, and perhaps even a little disgust. Sam knew at that moment that he had lost complete control of the entire situation. Maybe he had never even had control.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Work that involves saving your ass, so please leave me alone unless its urgent," Andre said, as he turned on his heel and started back towards his lift.

Sam watched the soldier walk away, a string of vomit hanging from his lips. The self titled refugee leader wiped the string away, and then slowly walked back to the ladder. He was ashamed of himself, he was tired, he was saddened by the death that had come to his once normal life. He was a fucking computer technician, not a warrior, not a survivor of the apocalypse. The soldiers had always known that fact, the refugees had refused to believe it, and Sam himself hadn't even entertained the truth.

Now though he knew it, as cold, hard and pitiless as death itself.

* * *

Jackie sat slightly separated from her four friends as they ate a small lunch of some ham sandwiches they had made for themselves. Jackie had her rifle disassembled on the table before her. She used old rags and a bottle of CLP to clean the carbon off the weapon. The rags came away stark black. She hadn't properly cleaned her weapon for awhile, which she should have done.

"I haven't seen the sun in… forever," Megan was saying.

"Suits me fine… it's too damn bright," Jenn said simply, before taking a small bite of her sandwich and chewing slowly.

"Still, it'd be nice to get outside again," Caity said.

At that Jackie let out a small humorless laugh.

"Oh you know what I mean hun," Caity retorted to her girlfriend's unsaid statement. The zombies were outside eating people… inside it was safe.

"I remember taking walks in the park with the dogs. Those were good days," Mandee said with a bright and cheerful smile.

"That's cause you had nice dogs," Megan said.

"Would you like a sandwich hun?" Caity asked, holding a sandwich out for her lover.

"Ah, thank you much," Jackie said, leaning in for a small kiss.

"PDA!" Jenn yelled frantically, pointing at the pair. A few heads turned at the shout.

Jackie didn't care though, and deepened the kiss for the sole fact of bugging Jenn.

"Okay, fuck off I'm sorry," she said looking away, taking another bite of her sandwich.

Jackie broke away from the kiss, and started to take large bites from her own. It tasted slightly metallic because of the CLP on her fingers. She didn't care though, the ham inside was good. Once the sandwich was finished, she went back to cleaning her rifle.

"How long are we going to be here?" Megan asked. No one answered for awhile.

"It depends," Jackie said vaguely, not explaining the plan. She didn't want to get their hopes up incase the plan failed.

"Depends on what?" Mandee asked innocently.

"On how long the zombies take to break open our barricades," Jenn said gloomily.

"That's not true! Jake please say its not true," Megan said, turning to her friend.

Jackie said nothing, she couldn't refute the statement, it could very well end up being true. She looked down at her rifle instead, and a feeling of dread and gloom came over the five friends.

"I'm tired, I'm going to go get some sleep," Jackie stated, starting to piece her rifle together again, while wiping away all the excess oil.

"Okay, bye Jake," Jenn said, followed by waves from Megan and Mandee.

With her rifle put together, Jackie went through a quick functions test to ensure her weapon was working properly. Once satisfied, she held her arms out wide for Caity, who promptly jumped onto her and squeezed her tight.

"I love you," Caity whispered into Jackie's ear.

"I love you to," Jackie whispered back, running her free hand over Caity's back and nuzzling her face into the crook of Caity's neck. She didn't want to leave this comfort, but she knew she'd have to.

* * *

Sam sat in what had once been the vice principles office, slumped in the leather chair set behind the fine oak desk, cluttered with now useless papers, memos, and books. A half empty bottle of Jack Daniels was clutched in Sam's hand, and another bottle sat on the desk in front of him. He had never been much of a drinker, and so it had not taken much for him to slip into a foggy haze.

He didn't know what to do, he was so tired, and now with the alcohol in his system he couldn't even think straight. Not that it mattered, he wasn't needed, he never had been.

Sam took another pull of the harsh whiskey, the drink spilling out of his mouth and down his chin to soak his shirt.

The booze was coming too fast, Sam began to choke, coughing up gouts of Jack Daniels and soaking the old papers on the desk. He slumped further into the chair, dropping the bottle beside him. The contents began to leak out, soaking into the carpet, filling the room with the stench of booze.

Sam let out an uncontrolled laugh that was bordering on a cackle. He didn't even know what he was laughing at.

He reached out and opened a desk drawer. Within he found a revolver, nestled neatly amongst unused paper. _Why is there so much paper_? Sam thought to himself, just before the revolver filled his mind completely.

He reached out, it seemed so far away. Was that his mind or the booze doing that to him. Sam wrapped his fingers around the cold steel of the gun, and brought it close to him. He opened the cylinder, and looked inside.

A smile crossed Sam's face.


	9. Russian Poker

**Chapter 9: Russian Poker**

"It's all ready to go. How about you two? You ready?" Andre asked, standing up from his work on the lift. His eyes flicked between the gazes of Esau and Fetzner.

Moore had been paired off with Upton to form the new Bravo team, and the two were currently patrolling the hallways. Andre had taken the radio from Moore, and was now the sole member of Alpha team. Hunter and Hogg were still Charlie, while Fetzner and Esau were Delta, and Delta was leaving. That would leave the school less defended, but it was the only plan they had.

"Yes," Esau said immediately. This was something he had to do.

Fetzner glanced over at his partner, glad that he was at least going with someone enthusiastic. Fetzner wasn't entirely sure on Esau's motives for volunteering for this mission. Maybe it was to support Hunter, maybe it was that he had something to prove, or maybe he was like Fetzner and just wanted to help the people inside this school. The difference between them being that Fetzner cared for his own life, as much as that of the refugees.

"Yeah… yes…I'm ready," Fetzner said, choosing his words carefully.

"Alright then, let's do it," Andre said, though his voice carried little enthusiasm.

He picked up a large, thick piece of wood. Fetzner and Esau helped him carry it over to the edge of the roof. Just below them sat the truck, and the bloody corpses that wanted to consume them.

They threw the wooden plank so that it landed on top of the truck. Fetzner took a breath and a couple steps backwards, then ran forward and leapt from the edge. The bottom of his stomach felt as if it dropped out as his feet left the security of the solid stone school roof. It was as if he were in freefall, his entire life depending upon this one jump. If he missed the truck he would fall into the crowd of ghouls beneath his feet, a fate that was the least desirable of all possible outcomes.

Pain then flared up through his arm, stemming from where his elbow impacted against the wood. Fetzner winced but got to his feet and walked along the board laid out along the top of the bars creating the frame that held up the truck's green drab covering. When Fetzner had made his way to the top of the cab, he turned and signaled for Esau to jump as well.

As Esau landed his knees buckled causing him to fall and smash his shoulder violently against the board. His heart leapt into his throat as he started to roll over the edge of the truck. He saw the zombies reaching for him hungrily, waiting for him to come within their murderous reach. He couldn't stop himself.

A hand roughly grabbed him by the back of his tactical vest and hauled. Esau's legs swung out over the zombies, kicking one across the face and tearing the jaw clean off. The fleshy scrap of bone disappeared amongst the undead.

Esau kicked his legs wildly, and used his elbows to try and propel himself back onto the truck while Fetzner pulled with all the strength he could muster. He could feel the muscles in his arms straining, pain throbbing in his elbow. He gritted his teeth, feeling the pressure through his jaw as he pulled.

Finally Esau managed to solidly place his hands on the wooden plank, and pushed back, propelling himself into Fetzner's legs. The two collapsed on the top of the plank they had set up. Esau was propped between Fetzner's legs, both were breathing heavily.

"Never… ever… again," Fetzner said.

"I agree," Esau responded.

"Would you two stop having a mushy moment and get the job done!" Andre called down from the roof, firing a few shots into the zombies to get the attention of the two soldiers.

Fetzner threw a look at Andre that seemed to say 'fuck off', but he quickly got to his feet, shortly followed by Esau. The two calmly walked over the truck's top so that they both stood on the top. They both looked back at their master corporal, who nodded solemnly.

"Let's do this buddy," Fetzner said, turning to face Esau.

"Walk in the park… though that has become slightly more difficult these days," Esau responded. The two shook hands then turned, ready to jump in through the front window of the truck. It was risky, but it was also the safest way into the truck.

The two simultaneously jumped over the front edge of the cab while Andre sniped the zombies from the roof. Fetzner's and Esau's rifle butts both connected with the front windshield, sending a spider web of cracks through the glass. Both struck out again, their rifles striking simultaneously. The windshield shattered in a shower of glass. Both soldiers crawled in through the broken window.

Fetzner placed himself behind the driver's wheel. He took a deep breath, and exhaled as he started the truck up. Zombies were already pounding on the windows and Fetzner winced every time a rotted hand struck the window just beside his head.

Brain matter splashed across the window as Andre shot the zombie closest to the truck. Fetzner looked at the smear in disgust, feeling revulsion rolling within him. Even through the window, he could smell them: Their distinct stench of rot and decomposing flesh. He had barely been able to stand it when he was standing on the roof. Now that they surrounded him, it was unbearable.

Esau's hand firmly shaking his shoulder woke Fetzner from his stupor.

"Come on man, let's get the fuck outta here before they break through the windows," Esau said, glancing over his shoulder in time to see the side of a zombie's head burst open from a 5.56mm round.

Fetzner nodded, and pressed his foot down on the gas. As the truck moved forward, Fetzner spun the wheel to circle around to the front of the school and leave. The only thing he wished was that there had been more people to see him and Esau off.

* * *

"Maybe you're right, perhaps it is for the best, but people still need you Sam," Frank said, shuffling a full deck of cards. A red and white design on the back of each of the cards began to blur into almost one.

"Nah, fuck 'em. The military folks are trained professionals, they know what they're doing. Let them do the job and we just sit here and play poker," Joey said with his smile, teeth stained yellow from years of smoking.

Sam simply sat in the office chair drinking back booze. There was quite a bit stashed in here. The revolver sat on a pile of books, only a single bullet loaded. Sam had found the other two men, and convinced them into playing a game of poker crossed with Russian roulette.

As soon as the men had seated themselves, Sam had started flooding out his entire story: what had happened to him up on the roof, all his insecurities, all his fears, all his doubts. Hell he even told them about how he had to kill his pet dog the morning of the… phenomenon. Now he was shuffling cards, tears running from red and puffy eyes, breath smelling of cheap booze that the vice principal had either confiscated or stashed for himself. Perhaps it was a bit of both.

Sam dealt out the cards to each of the players. As he set the remaining cards down the other two men looked at their dealt hand. Joey frowned, but Frank let a small smile cross his face. Apparently neither men had heard of a poker face. No matter, Sam looked at his own hand… an ace of hearts and a queen of a clubs.

Since there was no money or poker chips the men simply waited for Sam to flip the next few cards. A queen of diamonds, an ace of spades and a four of diamonds stared up at the four players. Frank's smile grew a little wider while Joey's frown slipped away just a bit. They were all still in.

Sam slowly flipped the last card, struggling to get a firm hold in his intoxicated state. When he finally did place it down on the desk a six of hearts looked up at the three men. Joey grumbled something, placed his cards down on the table and leaned back, taking a long drag of his cigarette.

"I fold," he said between clouds of smoke.

Frank merely smiled, so Sam pulled up the last card, and placed it down. The card made a cold snap on the table. It was another ace… the ace of clubs.

Both Sam and Frank showed their cards… and Frank stared in horror at Sam's winning hand.

"Come on Frankey… you lose," Sam said with slurred speech, even as he took another pull of his booze, even as Joey's cigarette smoke filled the room, obscuring the smell of the booze.

Frank nodded solemnly, picked up the revolver, and placed the barrel against his temple. He said a silent prayer and squeezed the trigger.

* * *

The loud bang of a gunshot drove Jackie's dreams away and she bolted up from her sleep. She rolled off of her cot, throwing on her full combat load. On the cot beside her Hogg was also scrambling into action, but he had gotten caught in his sleeping bag. She grabbed her rifle, slinging it even as she clipped her helmet in place as she ran towards the sounds of the gunshot.

Another one sounded as Jackie turned the corner and saw Upton standing near the back door of the school near the gym, taking careful shots through a hole in the barricade. Moore was right behind Jackie, with Hogg not far behind him.

"What's up?" Hogg asked.

"You two go find stuff for the barricade… I'll help Upton," Jackie told them, running up to Upton's side as the other two ran back to the tech wing to find something… anything really, that would repair the holes in the barricade.

Jackie stepped up beside Upton, shouldering her rifle and placing her own careful shot through the hole. The round she fired punched clean through a zombie's face.

"Thanks for the help," Upton said.

"Yeah… Moore and Hogg should be back soon with some stuff to fix this damn hole," Jackie said as both she and Upton fired another shot.

Because it was a small hole, it did not pose a major threat. Still, Jackie wanted to get it closed before it was able to become life threatening. After a few minutes of waiting and shooting, Moore and Hogg arrived back with some heavy plywood to cover the hole.

Jackie placed a final two shots through the door before shifting out of the way to allow the two arriving soldiers to put their burden against the barricade.

"Hold it so we can secure it," Hogg said, nodding towards the plywood he had just shoved against the doors to cover the hole.

Jackie and Upton complied, leaning against the wood, temporarily securing it while Hogg and Moore took out hammer and nails. They began to meticulously pound the nails into place watching as the small steel buried into the wood, even as the zombies on the other side tried to undo the work.

All four leaned against a wall after the barricade was secured. They stared at their work, shaking ever so slightly as the ghouls on the other side pounded ceaselessly at the obstacles between them and their food. Silence fell over the four soldiers, and all they could do was stare.

Jackie felt something warm and wet on the inside of her thighs, soaking through the military issued underwear. She brought a hand to her head as she became aware of the discomfort growing within her abdomen. She hadn't felt it through the adrenaline, but now that the excitement was passed she could feel her insides running from between her legs.

With a sigh Jackie pushed herself off the wall, and started walking to the bathroom, fishing some tampons from her tactical vest pocket. What a time for this to hit.

"Hunter? You okay? You look a little pale," Hogg said running up beside her.

"Yeah I'll be fine… happens once in awhile," Jackie responded. Hogg noticed the object in her hand and simply nodded, not wanting to get involved with feminine issues. He simply watched his fire team partner walk into the bathroom before heading back to the temporary barracks in the lobby. He still wanted to get some sleep.

* * *

In the messy confines of the female washrooms Jackie hid in one of the stalls, pulling her pants down and frowning at the blood on her thighs and staining the insides of her underwear.

"Fuck," she muttered.

* * *

As the shooting from out in the halls faded, Sam dealt the fourth hand. Frank had lost twice so far, Joey once. Neither had been killed by the single bullet hiding within the revolver. In the next four hands, one of them would loose the final hand, and their life.

Sam watched the world spin, a result of his depleted bottle of booze. Joey continued to smoke, lighting up a new cigarette as soon as one was finished. The room reeked of smoke, booze, and even vomit from where Sam had thrown up in the corner.

He dealt two cards each, and flipped the first three. He looked at his hand, and at the cards on the table. He couldn't quite make out the shapes and numbers; they were all blurring into one. He couldn't quite make out the grins or frowns that his two partners wore on their faces.

"Come on Sam, flip the cards," Joey said, and Sam only nodded dumbly, flipping the next card. He heard muttered 'checks' and flipped the final card. Frank folded, but Joey simply let a smile grow across his features, revealing his tar stained teeth, cigarette smoke drifting from his partially open mouth, the cigarette itself dangling from between his lips.

"Check," he said simply.

Sam tried to look at his cards, he had no idea what he had. He just looked up, and said check, the word slurring in his mouth.

Joey put his cards face up on the table, Sam followed suite.

"You lose Sammy," Joey said, handing the gun over to Sam.

Sam looked at the cold steel of the revolver, before slowly taking it in his hand. He opened his jaw, pushing the barrel of the weapon against the roof of his mouth. He could taste the steel, the oil. It left a residue on his tongue.

Sam laid his finger gently on the trigger, feeling the cold metal beneath his fingertip. The chill seemed to swirl through him, all the way up his arm, curling around his spine, and freezing his brain.

Joey and Frank watched Sam, waiting for the man to pull the damned trigger so they could get on with their game. Sam squeezed the trigger.

* * *

Another gunshot sounded through the school. Jackie shouldered the door of the girl's bathroom open, looking around as Hogg jumped out of bed again.

"What the fuck? Can't those rotting fuckers see I'm busy," Jackie said, zipping her pants and securing her belt.

"Doubt it, and I don't think they care Hunter," Hogg said running towards the sound of the gunshot.

"Fuckers," Jackie muttered, following Hogg.

They found Upton standing outside the old vice principal's office. Jackie frowned, there were no windows and barricades in here, why would gunshots be coming from in here, unless…

Jackie shook her head, she realized she hadn't heard a C7 fire, it was a revolver or pistol of some sort.

"I need some help cleaning this up. Moore can't even get in there, he ran off to throw up already. Hogg you might as well head back to bed," Upton explained. Hogg nodded and walked back towards his cot. Jackie followed Upton into the room, immediately noting the smell of booze, vomit, and death.

Inside Sam was slumped in the vice principal's chair, head tilted back, dead eyes staring at the ceiling. His arms hung loosely at his sides. A trail of vomit ran down the front of his once cleanly pressed white shirt. A revolver was on the ground, it had been dropped from Sam's lifeless fingers.

Jackie shook her head, eyes trailing up the wall now splattered with blood, brain matter and white chips of bone. Gore dripped to the floor form the hole in the back of Sam's head, leaving a nice chunky puddle on the ground.

Trying to figure out what had happened Jackie let her eyes trail over the room. She noticed the various empty bottle of booze, the few small puddles of vomit, and the cards across the desk. Jackie frowned at them.

"Upton, was there anyone else in here?" Jackie asked.

"No, I was walking past the offices when I heard the gunshot, I turned directly here. No one came out. Looks like the guy just killed himself," Upton observed.

"I guess," Jackie said, ending her quick investigation. The cards still bugged her a little, but she was too agitated to care too much about them.

"Let's just get the body out of here and shut this room off," Upton suggested.

Jackie nodded in agreement.

A knock at the door caused both Upton and Jackie to turn, only to see Hogg standing in the doorway, holding a poncho out to the two.

"Figured you might need this, shouldn't let the refugees see you carrying their old leader's carcass around," he said as Jackie took the garment.

Jackie personally thought that the refugees should learn to cope with corpses, considering that dead bodies were currently pounding on the barricades around the school. She was not in the mood for an argument however, and simply took the poncho and draped it over Sam's body.

"Let's just get this over with," Jackie said pulling the body off of the chair, and getting brains all across her stomach and legs from the action.

Hogg simply shook his head as Upton grabbed the cadaver's legs and helped Jackie carry it down the hall to the cafeteria. Hogg began his walk back to his cot. He just wanted some sleep. Hopefully the guns would be quiet for a little while.

* * *

The afternoon sun was descending upon the world, fading behind the houses of the suburbs even as the houses faded from Esau and Fetzner's view. They drove in silence, in awe of the death and destruction they saw on the sides of the roads.

"Think we'll find it?" Esau asked suddenly.

Fetzner merely looked at him for a moment.

"Safety I mean, a safe place," Esau continued. Fetzner looked at him for another few seconds before turning his gaze back to the road in time to see a zombie step into his path and get run down, sending a spray of blood across the hood of the large truck.

"No… no where is safe anymore. We're looking for somewhere safer," Fetzner merely said.

* * *

The lights of the bathroom were flickering, obscuring the form of the soldier kneeling over the toilet, heaving his last meal into the distilled water. Tears streamed down Moore's face. He couldn't take it anymore, the hopelessness of everything.

Did he even want to keep going, to keep trying. He had nothing to live for anymore. His parents were dead, his girlfriend… more than likely dead, and his friends were probably shambling through the city, blood of their fresh victims streaming from their jaws.

Moore just cried. He didn't know what to do anymore. It was all so… pointless.


	10. Asylum

**Chapter 10: Asylum**

The school wasn't a rescue station anymore. It had stopped being that when sergeant Howard was killed. Despite the best efforts of the soldiers, depression and madness began to creep its way through the hallways. The feeling of defeat even began to trickle its way into the minds of the soldiers.

Not even Jackie was as resolute anymore. As she sat on her cot, staring blankly at the wall, knees pulled up to her chest so that they touched the pouches holding her C7 magazines. Her arms were wrapped firmly around her knees, and her hair was partially loose, falling from under her helmet in a mass of tangles. She didn't bother trying to fix it.

On the cot beside her, Hogg's snores sounded uneven, and he occasionally let out a tiny whimper, as if her were dreaming. Or more likely, having a nightmare. He had pulled his sleeping bad up around his face, and clutched the material close to him, as if it were some kind of teddy bear. It was one small comfort for the soldier. One small comfort in a world that offered so very little anymore.

Occasionally Jackie would see Upton wander by, continuing his patrols. She hadn't seen Moore, nor did she really wonder where he had snuck off to while she and Upton had thrown Sam's body off the roof.

All the refugees were sleeping, or trying to. Some simply lay awake, crying gently to themselves. Word of Sam's death had spread surprisingly fast, and it had the same effect upon the civilians as Howard's death had upon the soldiers. It was almost as if some chilled hand of death had come in and taken everyone's spirits when Sam had pulled that trigger.

And so Jackie sat, stewing in her own troubles, her own lack of spirit.

She looked up when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. A shadowy shape drifted down the hall towards the tech wing. It hadn't been Upton or Moore, it was one of the refugees. Jackie stood, picking up her rifle. She started towards the hall where she had seen the figure disappear.

As she turned the corner, Jackie saw the figure turn the next corner further down the shadowy hall. She glanced behind her to see Upton up by the offices continuing his sweeping patrols. Jackie started down the hall, holding her rifle by the hand guards, completely at ease. She had a feeling whom the shadow was.

Jackie turned the next corner. For a brief second she saw David on the ground as a zombie tore at his flesh. Jackie closed her eyes for just a moment, and opened them again. The illusion had gone, and she saw the shadow duck through a door halfway down the hallway. Jackie followed, almost like a lost puppy.

As she went through the door, finding herself in a larger than usual janitor's closet, she shut the door behind her. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, even as the woman behind those arms brought her body close to Jackie's.

"I love you," Jackie muttered softly, and she heard Caity respond just before she felt the soft caress of her girlfriend's lips on her own.

Jackie undid her helmet, letting it fall to the ground with a solid clunk on the floor, while Caity's slender hands undid the tactical vest and flak jacket that Jackie was wearing, letting the protective gear fall to the floor with the forgotten rifle and helmet.

Free of the heavy weight Jackie pushed Caity against a far wall, running her hands under the other woman's shirt, feeling her skin beneath her fingertips, while their kisses grew more heated and passionate.

They broke away long enough for Jackie to pull Caity's shirt off. In that brief lapse Jackie had a moment of lust cleared thinking.

"Hun… you know I'm o-," Jackie started.

"I know, it doesn't matter, we need this," Caity said softly, nibbling gently on Jackie's ear while her hands undid the buttons of the military tunic. She let the garment slide delicately off her shoulders, so Caity could begin to lift Jackie' shirt, revealing the black sports bra beneath.

Their lips met again, as Jackie pushed her lover against the wall, pressing their bodies together. Flames of passion danced under their skin, crossing between them as their lips continued to meet in love and lust.

Caity could feel Jackie's hands working on her belt, pulling the leather strip away and throwing it over with Jackie's gear, just before the experienced fingers began to undo the button and zipper of her jeans. Jackie pushed the blue bottoms down, running her hands along her lover's hips and thighs, while also lowering her kisses to the neck and shoulders.

Standing in only her underwear Caity returned the favor for Jackie, just before their bras joined the growing pile of clothing across the floor. As Jackie nuzzled her face into the crook of Caity's neck, gently nibbling at the skin and kissing the shoulder, her hand slowly slipped beneath the material of her love's panties.

Caity let out a gasp as she felt the sensations of her love down in her womanhood, holding Jackie close, even as the other woman's lips and tongue began to trail across her breasts.

Nothing else mattered for the two in their love making, and for a moment, all the desperation and madness of the world outside disappeared, as their spirit returned to their hearts.

* * *

"_Hogg… it's time for our shift_" came a distant female voice.

"nah… I wanna stay in bed, care to join me sexy?" Hogg muttered back.

Suddenly he was falling, fully awake now. He bounced off the cold ground, still inside his sleeping bag. With a groan Hogg looked up to see Hunter standing above him, shaking her head.

Hogg blinked, slightly ashamed of what he had said to his partner, but he was more curious of the glow that seemed to radiate from Hunter's face. Something had happened to her between dumping Sam's body and waking him up.

"I said it's time for our shift, get up, get dressed," Hunter said, turning on her heel to talk to Upton.

"Moore turn up at all?" Jackie asked the lone soldier, noting the bags under his eyes. Having to patrol an entire school by himself in a time such as this could get to a man. Where every noise and shadow would make you jump, make you want to break down and cry.

"No… kick his ass for me if he does during your shift," Upton said, taking off his helmet and running a hand through the thin patch of hair on his head.

"Will do, get some rest," Jackie said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.

Upton merely nodded, barely able to keep his eyes open now that sleep was right upon him. He stumbled over to his own cot, dropping his rifle and helmet beside the makeshift bed before collapsing atop his sleeping bag. He didn't even bother dressing down, simply falling asleep upon contact with the cot.

Jackie shook her head, and turned her gaze over to Hogg, who was rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he walked up to Jackie.

"Has Andre come down to be relieved yet?" Hogg asked.

"No… go up and check on him," Jackie said, mentally slapping herself. How could she have forgotten about Andre, the poor bastard probably fell asleep up there or something.

Hogg nodded, starting towards the Cafeteria. In the back of his mind the soldier wasn't entirely sure what he'd find on the roof. No one was entirely sure of the state of Andre's mind. He hadn't come down since Howard's death, always working on the plan of escape.

As her fire team partner entered the cafeteria, Jackie turned to see Moore stomping around in the lobby by the front barricaded doors of the school. Jackie felt a surge of anger rushing up from deep within her. Where has this cowardly bastard been hiding?

Jackie walked up to him.

"Where the fuck have you been?" she demanded.

"I've been in the bathroom sick. Like you can talk, I saw you disappear after the barricades went up, they aren't off limits," Moore shot back. His face was haggard, his eyes sunken, while they darted about nervously.

"There's a difference between physical problems during rack time, and running off for an entire shift. Get in you fucking head damnit," Jackie screamed in the soldier's face, he cringed.

"Fuck you bitch," he yelled back, going to punch her, but she was quicker. Stumbling backwards, and clutching a bleeding nose Moore collected himself enough to run off to the cafeteria.

Jackie watched him go, rubbing the knuckles of her fist where they had connected with Moore's face once again. She wondered briefly if he would run off to his hiding spot again. It didn't really matter now though, he was off his shift.

Jackie turned, and took her slung rifle off her back, and started towards the offices.

* * *

Hogg pulled himself onto the roof of the school, and quickly found Andre; standing on the edge of the roof. The master corporal's rifle was slung across his back, and a cigarette dangled from his lips. Andre didn't even seem to know that it was there, just letting it burn away with a faint red glow. The man didn't even know Hogg was there.

"Master Corporal?" Hogg said when he was only a few steps away.

For the first time since Hogg had been up here, Andre shifted. He wasn't startled, he wasn't relieved; he simply shifted his form slightly to acknowledge that the younger soldier was behind him. After a moment Andre finally turned to face Hogg, and the man's appearance startled the young private.

Andre's face was haggard and looked old. Lines that hadn't been there a few days prior had been etched through his face, thick stubble had begun to crawl across his clean cut features, his uniform was no longer clean and crisp, but dirty and slack on his weathered body. His lips trembled and his hands shook as if cold, though the air up on the roof was warm, ready for the coming summer, even now at the dawn. The worst though were his eyes, they appeared soulless, lifeless, almost like the creatures that had surrounded the school below.

Andre was cracking up, he was becoming unserviceable. Hogg doubted he would even be able to make it down the ladder, and the poor bastard needed some sleep.

"Andre… you need some rest," Hogg said carefully, not wanting to push the man over the edge, if he hadn't toppled over already.

"I can't… waiting… the truck will be back," he said, he sounded tired, drained, sorrowful. This was not the man who had taken over from Sergeant Howard. This was not the man who had arrived at the school with them those many, many days ago.

With what was presented to him, Hogg did the only thing he thought he could. He cracked Andre upside the head with his rifle butt, sending the man spiraling into unconsciousness.

Hogg quickly grabbed the man by the front of his tactical vest before he could fall over the edge of the roof and directed him towards the ground. Laying Andre out in a semi-comfortable position, Hogg stood and looked down at him.

"Sorry man, but it's for your own good. I'll get Hunter to give you some aspirin when you finally wake up," Hogg said grinding Andre's fallen cigarette out under his boot.

* * *

Moore violently pushed the cafeteria doors open, still clutching his nose, feeling his blood run through his fingers. He couldn't believe that bitch had punched him. He ignored the nervous glances of the refugees around him, instead heading straight for the vending machines.

He felt an urge for a pepsi. He fished a quarter out of his pocket with bloody fingers, and pushed it into the machine. As he heard the coin landing in place he pushed the button for a bottle of pepsi. The small digital display on the machine scrawled the message _option empty_.

"Fuck you to!" Moore screamed, kicking the vending machine, sending a shock up his leg. He screamed in pain and frustration, continuing to kick the vending machine, and punch it. Stupid bitch, what made her so high and fucking mighty. What made her the leader, that was Andre's job. Why couldn't the bitch just see past her own fucking nose.

"Hello… you might want to calm down," came a female voice behind him.

Moore slowly turned, turning a glaring eye towards the person who dared tell him what to do. There was a short little bitch right behind him, looked a little chunky to.

"Fuck off," Moore snorted, recognizing her as one of Jackie's friends… Mandee wasn't it. The rest of that bitch's friends were gathered around a table, staring at the showdown.

"Hey calm down, I was just making a suggestion," Mandee replied curtly.

Moore couldn't take it. He brought his rifle up, the muzzle smashing across Mandee's cheek bruising the flesh, and bursting into her eye. Blood and a more yellow liquid ran from the wound as Mandee screamed. Moore yelled out not hearing anything, not seeing anything.

"Fuck you!" Moore roared and fired his rifle, feeling the kick against his shoulder.

Mandee's head was knocked back, a solid chunk of bone with scalp and hair still attached flew back into the crowded refugees while chunks of brain matter fell from the opening to the floor below. Mandee's body stood for a moment, a hole clean through her skull.

As her body fell to the floor like a wet sack, and before everyone could even registered what happened right before their eyes, another shot rang out.

Moore screamed out in pain as a spurt of blood burst from his shoulder where the 5.56mm round punched through him. He fell to his knees, dropping his rifle, grasping his wounded shoulder. He clenched his eyes closed, feeling tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to break through between his eyelids.

"Mother fucker," came Jackie Hunter's voice even as the refugees backed away from the scene. One of their protectors had just killed one of their own, and now the soldiers were fighting amongst themselves.

Moore looked up and opened his eyes, only to see the bottom of Jackie's boot as it collided with his face, breaking his jaw and nose. Moore screamed as more blood gushed down his face.

"I can't believe I called you a soldier… a brother," Jackie said in a rage, bringing a booted foot down on Moore's chest. She heard ribs crack, and she was happy for the pain she caused him. He deserved it.

Jackie delivered another swift kick to his ribs, hearing more bones crack under her assault. Finally she had enough. With pure rage and hatred swimming through her veins, Jackie took her rifle, and loosened the sling.

The refugees looked on in morbid and silent fascination as Jackie wrapped the sling around Moore's throat, and place a boot on his back. Pushing with her leg and pulling with her arms, the sling cut off Moore's airway.

Moore on the ground struggled to breathe, unable to get any air through his airway to even cry out. Time seemed to slow down for the people in the cafeteria, watching one of the soldiers slowly suffocate. Moore could see darkness begin to creep in on the edges of his vision, threatening to snuff out his existence. He grabbed at the sling around his throat, trying to free himself, but he couldn't do it, he only tore at the skin of his neck, causing himself to bleed more.

Jackie pushed down hard with her boot, never letting go. She wouldn't, not until Moore was dead.

Eventually Moore stopped kicking, he stopped struggling, and Jackie knew, that Moore was dead. She removed her sling from around his throat and stood up in front of the entire refugee population, as her eyes shifted to Mandee's corpse.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, almost inaudible. She almost felt like crying, but she didn't think there were any tears left in her.

* * *

Mandee's funeral had been short, just as the refugees before her had been. It was the first time Caity, Jenn and Megan had been on the roof and seen the sky since arriving at the school. The sky however had changed, almost to fit the mood. It was dark, cloudy and depressing.

They had all said a few words for their friend, before Jackie and Hogg had thrown the body off the roof. Jackie watched the body fall and land with a dull thump on the ground below, just before the zombies started to tear into it. It seemed so archaic.

With her friends back downstairs, Jenn offering a healthy kick to Moore's skull before she descended, Jackie and Hogg walked over to Moore's body. There was a neat hole through it were Jackie had shot him… just to be sure. That was the answer she had given Hogg, sure of what she never told him.

Hogg was as disgusted with Moore's actions as Jackie was, and with that, there were only three soldiers left still in their right mind enough to be serviceable. Meaning that until Fetzner and Esau got back, there would only be two soldiers on duty at any given time.

"We might have to think of getting out of here ourselves," Jackie said somberly to Hogg, who merely nodded. Neither of them wanted to, they couldn't transport all of the survivors away from the school. There were only a few civilian vehicles in the back parking lot, including Mandee's minivan.

Jackie looked at the keys she had taken from her body. If no one else, she was determined to get out of here with her friends. The regiment was truly gone now.


	11. Mausoleum

**_Author's Note:_** Thanks for continuing to read. I unfortunately have bad news for those who want to see this finished soon. I've been selected for stream 1 for TF 03-08. What that means in English is that I'll be leaving to train for deployment to Afghanistan this May, and I have lots of personal loose ends to tie off before I leave. So that means updates may be few and far between, especially when I leave for training. I'll try and post stuff on time off, or at least get an extra chapter up before I go. Happy reading.

**Chapter 11: Mausoleum**

Jackie stood on the roof, staring at the red minivan parked in the back parking lot. It was one of only a few vehicles, but Jackie had the keys for that van. It was going to be her way out, and as many people as she could take with her.

Jackie was determined to save as many as she could, but she would not endanger her life or the lives of her friends in an attempt to save others. Esau and Fetzner still hadn't come back, and Jackie was starting to doubt they even would. Jackie looked behind her to see Andre curled up in the fetal position sleeping. She didn't think the master corporal was getting much rest.

Jackie looked down below her again, staring at the rotting creatures that had besieged the school. They were still growing in number, the zombies slowly trickling from the city, now mostly devoid of life, or completely devoid of life, Jackie wasn't sure.

There could still be others out there, hiding, surviving. For how long though? Would they start to break at the seams much like this school has?

"We're not the only ones alive," Hogg's voice suddenly said, shattering the silence that had managed to engulf the rooftop, causing Jackie to jump slightly.

Hogg didn't seem to notice, stepping up beside his fire team leader. His eyes looked first at the van, before he turned himself to stare at the city across the river. For the first time in quite a few days, Jackie turned her own eyes towards the buildings that filled Kingston, once the home of more than one hundred thousand people, now a cemetery where the dead were not buried, but instead walked the streets.

"Over six billion people lived on this planet. We're not even fifty people in here anymore. There's so much more out there. We're not the only people alive," Hogg continued, looking at a plume of smoke reaching into the sky. It seemed to defy his words, but Jackie could see the logic.

"Maybe not, but for now we just have to concentrate on keeping that number at fifty," Jackie said, walking towards the ladder.

* * *

A raven was perched atop the hood of the car, picking at the rotting flesh of the long dead man who had been thrown partially through the windshield of the vehicle, and his spine had snapped, killing him. A .22 bullet wound in the head had killed his reanimated body.

The raven didn't care why the truck that had t-boned the car of its meal was empty, or even where its occupant had gone. Perhaps they were dead as well, perhaps they would be another meal for the black bird. It tore another strip of flesh from the cheek of the corpse sprawled across the hood of his own car, exposing more of the man's cheekbone.

A set of footprints led away from the open door of the truck, and disappeared off into the distance.

* * *

They were three friends sitting at a table that had once held four. Every few moments one of the girls would look over to where Mandee had once sat.

"We're going to die here," Megan whined with tears spilling down her face.

"We're not going to die, Jake will take care of us," Caity said carefully.

Jenn didn't say a word; she merely sat and took in the scene. The other refugees in the room were all lost within their own conversations, some occasionally glancing over at Megan's shrill voice.

"Caity, Jake couldn't even save Mandee… what makes you think she'll help us any. She's just a stupid bitch," Megan said throwing all logic to the wind in her depression.

"Shut the fuck up," Caity responded feeling anger overcome her senses.

"No," Megan said, her stubborn nature showing through.

Caity didn't give Megan the pleasure of a response, merely struck out, the palm of her hand slapping Megan in the cheek with a loud smack that resonated through the cafeteria. Everyone stopped to look at the drama even as Megan fell back, an angry red mark on her face.

Caity stared in fury at the girl who was her friend, and Jenn merely shook her head at the drama that followed teenagers everywhere.

"Fuck you! You stupid bitch!" Megan screamed shrilly, many people had to cover their ears.

The short and scrawny girl got up and stormed out of the cafeteria, the eyes of many refugees following her. When she left, making a feeble attempt to slam one of the doors behind her, a few of the refugees stared back at Caity and Jenn, before they turned back to each other.

Caity sat fuming, her face bright red with anger. Jenn merely sat calmly. Her tears from Mandee's death had only recently dried up, but Megan was of no concern to her. She would storm off and eventually come back, just like she always did.

"You guys need to put a can on your drama, it was annoying before, now it can get us killed," Jenn said simply, logically.

Caity looked over at her.

"I don't care, I'm done with Megan. She can find someone else to bitch to," Caity said, and in response Jenn merely shrugged. She had had enough of the drama herself, and Megan had always been a source of drama.

Megan did have a point though, Jake had failed to save Mandee, and that was because Jake was trying to protect everyone from threats outside, not inside. There were only a few soldiers left, Jenn didn't even know how many. She didn't know what the situation outside was like, but inside, everyone's mind was starting to rot. How long could they last in here as sanity became a word of the past?

Footsteps coming up behind her cause Jenn to turn around slightly. Jake was walking towards the two, and she looked like hell. Her eyes looked dark, distant. She quietly sat herself at the table.

"Where's Megan?" she asked quietly, as if afraid of the answer.

"She's pissed off again. She'll be fine don't worry," Caity said managing to hide the anger that had been so prevalent before. Jenn merely shook her head giving Jackie the answer she had been looking for. Jackie lowered her head, resting her forehead against the cool surface of the cafeteria table, and didn't say a word.

* * *

Upton sat in the old chemistry lab, window blinds drawn, lights switched off, drowning the room in darkness. His back was to the door, his rifle leaning against the desk he was using. Various chemicals were spread across the desk with small plastic tubes piled off to the side. One of those tubes was placed directly in front of him and he was packing various chemical powders into it, all with a smile spreading across his face.

When he was finished with the first tube he capped it off and took a nail and hammer that he had stolen from the woodshop down in the tech wing, and used them to drive a hole through one of the caps. Picking up a piece of string, Upton slid the string through the hole.

With his smile unfading, Upton walked over to one of the windows, and opened the blinds and glass, allowing the light to pour in. The moans and growls of the undead drifted up to the open second story window, filling Upton's ears. He could see the mobs of the damned, and Hogg doing sentry duty on the roof, ironically below him. Upton pushed the window's screen out. He didn't give a shit about bugs getting into the school anymore.

Time for the test. Upton raised the pipe bomb he had made, and extracted a lighter from his pocket. With a few attempted flicks, he finally produced a small flame, which he held close to the string. Within a few seconds the string had caught fire, and Upton brought his arm back, and threw the pipe bomb out the window.

Upton watched it sail, even as the object caught Hogg's eye, who turned to watch it descend down into the parking lot. Both Hogg and Upton watched, one curiously, one anxiously.

Within a few seconds there was a loud explosion sending bits of smoking zombie flesh into the air.

"Holy fucker!" Hogg yelled out, throwing an arm across his face, feeling something heavy, warm and wet slam against his forearm.

"Yes, it works!" Upton yelled, throwing a fist into the air, even as Hogg kicked the piece of zombie corpse away from him, leaving a bloody smear across the rooftop. As Upton danced, he heard someone shouting. The soldier went back to the window to see Hogg standing there.

"Fucking warn me next time!" he yelled, before turning back to his sentry duty.

Upton merely shrugged and went back to the desk. Time to make more, these could come in real handy.

* * *

On the roof Hogg shook his head with a smile on his face. Upton was fucking crazy, but he always had been, and it wasn't dangerous. It was lightening actually, maybe he was part of the reason Hogg hadn't snapped yet… or maybe it was because he knew what Hunter would do to him if he did go ballistic.

As he found himself often doing Hogg looked over the edge of the roof at the uniformed body of Moore, lying with a hole through his skull, a bullet to make sure he wouldn't get up. Hunter had snapped herself, and killed another human… again. Hogg looked away from the body, even as chills slowly walked up his spine. Almost like fingers stroking the nerves.

Behind him Andre still slept in the fetal position. Hogg shook his head, smiling at the man, trying to shove the thoughts of Moore into the dark crevices of his mind. He sat down beside Andre watching the man sleep.

Hogg frowned, something wasn't right. He couldn't hear any breathing, any snoring. He couldn't see Andre's chest moving. Hogg put two fingers on the man's jugular, looking for a pulse. There was nothing, not even a murmur.

"Fuck… fuck," Hogg muttered, almost like a mantra as he laid Andre out on the rooftop. What happened, was it a heart attack, breathing difficultly, what? Nonetheless, his first aid training kicked in. Perhaps it wasn't too late to save Andre. CPR was the first thing to do.

As Hogg settled his hands on Andre's chest, rifle slung over his back, the master corporal's eyes opened. Hogg looked into them and for a moment, time was frozen. Then Andre lunged, knocking Hogg onto his back. The undead soldier snapped his jaws at Hogg's windpipe, who responded by pushing at the creature's shoulders, trying to push Andre away.

The zombie was relentless, pushing down to get at its meal. Hogg screamed out for help, hoping against hope that someone would come and save him, that Upton would hear him on the second floor. But what could Upton do from up there? Hogg was on his own for the moment, and with each passing second that was seeming to be less and less of a pleasant experience.

Andre's jaws were inching closer to Hogg's face, and all he could do was try and push the creature off of him. It was unnerving, staring into an open set of jaws, and not feel any breath at all, only the drip of salvia across his cheeks.

"Help!" Hogg tried to call, even as Andre's corpse inched closer to its meal.

He could hear shouting from below the trapdoor into the cafeteria, was Hunter and Upton coming to save him finally?

It was too late however, as the teeth along Andre's upper jaw started to carve into Hogg's face, the lower jaw catching the nose. Hogg screamed as the man that had led the section for such a short time tore off a strip of his face. Hot blood ran down his face and his screams ran through the air. Pain flashed through his body. He wasn't even entirely sure of what was going on. All he could feel was pain and blood as the skin and muscle of his face was torn away, bit by bit, by the very man he had fought beside. He wanted to cry, maybe he was he couldn't tell.

A great weight was lifted from him, but Hogg wasn't entirely sure what was happening. Was he dead? He could hear voices, were they angels or demons? Had he ascended or descended? He felt a strong pair of hands grip him. He knew that grip anywhere. He was still alive, and Hunter had him. Even with blinding pain he could feel her presence. She had been there with him from the beginning of this nightmare, and before that. Right since basic training.

"I'm sorry Hogg," he could hear her voice clearly. It sounded sad, he wanted to say something, that he was going to be better, but he couldn't lie. Not to her. They were so much more than friends, they were comrades, they were brother and sister, a bond that only soldiers could understand. So he didn't say anything, only let Hunter take him into a hug. He wasn't even sure if he embraced her back.

"You know what I have to do buddy…" was all she could say, voice choked with tears. Hogg wasn't even entirely sure if he responded. He hoped he did, he hoped that some kind of message got through to her, because in the end he knew that he loved her.

There was a sharp crack.

* * *

Jackie looked down at Hogg's body. His face wasn't even recognizable anymore. All distinguishing features torn away by the undead Andre, whom Upton had curb stomped into a second death.

Jackie slung her rifle and gently picked Hogg up, carrying his body over to the edge of the roof. She stood on the edge, just looking into Hogg's dead eyes. They were still intact, but at the end she knew he hadn't seen anything. She knew he had heard her words though, and she had heard his message.

"Goodbye brother… may you sleep well," Jackie said, letting the body fall from her arms to the ground below. She wanted to bury him or something, but she couldn't. Maybe she should have burned him, but that would have been showing a respect to one man after all others had been denied it so far.

"Sorry Hunter," Upton said from beside her, the image of him scraping Andre's brains from the heel of his boot somehow added to the sorrow of the whole thing.

"Get everyone inside the cafeteria, board it up, and tell everyone to get as much sleep as they can," Jackie said moving away from the edge; it had started to look tempting.

Upton nodded, he knew exactly what was happening. He stood and left Hunter to her grieving. He had to get those pipe bombs before blocking off the cafeteria.

As soon as Upton had descended from the rooftop, Jackie sat, and folded her knees up to her chest, rested her head on them, and let her tears come forth. She cried as evil grew in the school beneath her.

* * *

Upton stopped in the cafeteria, telling some refugees to get everyone inside the cafeteria, and be ready to barricade it all up. Hunter knew that two soldiers could not defend the entire school, just the cafeteria was a different story, they might be able to hold on for a little longer. To be sure though, Upton wanted those pipe bombs.

Hew tore through the lobby, where his eyes settled on the rucksacks that had been left as a make shift barracks. Upton turned, and called to some of the refugees in the cafeteria.

"Hey, can you take these rucksacks here and bring them into the cafeteria?" he asked urgently, his legs still itching to run up the stairs.

"The what?" the survivor asked, confused.

"These green backpacks," Upton said, pointing to the neatly organized sleeping area.

As the man nodded, getting some of his friends to help him, Upton took off. His legs powered him up the steps, taking two or even three at a time. As he cleared through the second floor doors, he heard a sound down the hall.

Upton paused, and with a frown looked down the hall, only to see a ghoul rushing towards him. It was an older man, his neck torn open, with blood running down his chest.

"Fuck!" he yelled bringing up his rifle, and squeezing the trigger three times in quick succession. Only two rounds hit, and of those only one hit the head, the first having hit the creature's neck, sending a spray of blood behind it, even as it collapsed to the floor.

Upton stood his ground, rifle butt still in his shoulder, breathing heavily. How had the fuckers got in? All the barricades were up.

"Someone died… fuck!" Upton said, now running down the hall with a greater sense of urgency, but still cautiously. How many of the refugees were dead already? How many were on this level.

Upton turned into the chemistry lab, and there were two undead, chewing on a third person, tearing away chunks of meat. It had disturbed Upton so very much, in a time that seemed so long ago now. Now it was just part of life. He calmly put a bullet into the head of each ghoul, and checked the hall before ducking into the chemistry lab.

He found a small bag, shoving his small supply of pipe bombs into the bag… there were only eight, he would have to make them count. As he loaded the bag he wrinkled his nose to try and stifle the stench that was quickly filling the room.

As Upton turned, he found himself staring into the face of yet another zombie.

* * *

Every single refugee had jumped at the first sound of gunshots, and that's when the panic began to settle in. They started to yell at each other, started to fight with each other. Punches were thrown as each tried to come up with the best idea of what to do for everyone.

Jenn and Caity were trying their best to stay out of the way. Dodging fights and screaming mobs of people. This was it, this was the end of everything here. Sanity had finally just shattered and now the remaining survivors were at each other's throats.

The two girls looked towards the doors to the cafeteria. The halls outside were dark, but they could still see Megan's silhouette. She was just standing there, in shock at the events that were unfolding before her, especially with the danger that was now stalking the halls of the school.

"Megan get over here!" Caity called, forgetting her previous anger at her friend.

Megan responded by taking a single step into the room, revealing her very dead state. Blood covered her mouth from where she had torn into refugees that had been wandering the halls, and the deep cuts running down her wrist, the very wounds that had apparently taken her life.

"Oh god," Caity whispered, while Jenn merely grabbed her before running towards the ladder leading up to the roof. Even as the two started running, Megan launched herself into the midst of the chaotic room, taking down a young woman, and in the madness no one realized what was happening, save a few whose immediate screams were lost in the noise of their fighting.

* * *

Upton kicked out, snapped the creature's knee. As the ghoul fell it latched onto Uptons torso, and bit into his stomach.

"Stupid fuck… hard to bite through a flak jacket isn't it?" Upton said, using all the strength he could muster to throw the zombie just a few feet away from him. He raised his rifle, and fired twice into its head. The zombie's skull bounced off the floor with each shot, splattering brains and chips of bone across the floor.

Upton slung the bag of pipe bombs over his shoulder, and took off down the hall. His boots pounded against the floor, even as he tore through the stairwell doors and nearly fell all the way to the bottom. As he turned into the lobby and looked into the cafeteria, his heart clenched tight in his chest.

The cafeteria was in a riot, and Upton could clearly see zombies amidst the crowd, having a great buffet. He doubted everyone even knew their numbers were thinning. He took a deep breath as he prepared himself to run through the gauntlet that the cafeteria had become.

* * *

Jenn and Caity were at the ladder, looking at the devastation that had erupted throughout the cafeteria.

"Get up to the roof now," Jenn told her friend, and Caity nodded, climbing up the ladder as fast as she could.

Just as Jenn was about to scale the ladder herself, Megan's reanimated corpse ran towards her with bloodied jaws open, mutilated hands outstretched to grab onto the girl who had once been her friend.

Jenn responded by delivering an accurate kick to suicide's head, crushing the nose and sending small splinters of bone and cartilage into the brain. Megan fell backwards, her body crumpling with the impact, and Jenn merely looked at the damage she had caused for a few seconds.

"I've always… kinda wanted to do that," she said before turning.

A green pack with HUNTER 701 scrawled across the top flap in black marker caught her eye. There was a shotgun shoved behind one of the side pockets, so Jenn picked the pack up, threw it on her back, and started her own climb up the ladder to the roof.

* * *

Upton charged across the cafeteria floor, being careful not to slip on the blood slick floor. There was no room for shooting, he just used the butt of his rifle to smash survivors and zombies both across the face. There was no more time for compassion, for Upton this was pure survival. The refugees had snapped, and for that they were all going to die.

He could feel blood splash across him as he ran the gambit, felt the shock of impact run up his arm whenever he struck someone with the butt of his rifle. He could feel his heart pounding, pulsing blood and adrenaline through his veins.

It seemed like it took hours to cross that cafeteria, when in reality it was only a few seconds. When he reached the ladder, Upton grabbed the machete Andre had strapped to his rucksack, as well as picking up his own before scaling the ladder.

He felt dizzy as his sweat slick hands propelled him up the metal rungs. He was afraid he would fall. As he reached the top however, he felt Hunter's hands grab the extra material of his tunic around his shoulders and helped to pull him up. Upton collapsed on the roof even as Hunter closed the trapdoor, sealing them off from the cafeteria.

Upton stood, and let his rucksack fall back to the rooftop. He looked at Hunter, and noticed two girls standing behind her. He recognized one as Hunter's girlfriend, the other as one of her friends.

"Nice… three chicks and one guy," Upton said with a queasy smile to try and lighten the mood.

Soon after the comment though, Upton fell to his knees and puked as everything caught up to him at once.

Jackie knelt beside him, gently patting his back as Upton tried to recover. Right after his vomiting though, he began to sob uncontrollably. Jackie put an arm around him and held him close despite the blood covering him.

"Don't worry man, we'll get out of this," she said trying to calm him down.

Somehow though, she wasn't sure if she believed it herself. She was sitting on top of a mausoleum. Almost everyone she had set out to protect was dead now, Esau and Fetzner still hadn't come back. Where could they go to be safe?

Then a thought entered Jackie's mind.

She was going home.


	12. Homeward Bound

**Chapter 12: Homeward Bound**

There was a faint sizzling that sounded through the air, even above the moans of the undead. Jackie threw the home made pipe bomb over the edge of the roof into the mob of zombies. She had seen the aftermath of the first test, now though, it had to count.

As the small flame on the string reached the chemicals Upton had compounded into the small plastic tube, they reacted as explosively as before.

Before the pieces of smoking meat had even hit the ground, Jackie and the other three were descending down into the parking lot on the make shift elevator that had been so helpful mere days earlier.

Both Jackie and Upton had their rucksacks on, with rifles in hand, shooting down a few of the zombies that were still a threat to them. Jenn used Jackie's shotgun to pump solid twelve gauge death into the undead creatures that were still somehow tracking them. They ran as fast as they could across the scarlet stained parking lot, where so many zombies had been slain, and so many friends had been dumped. Jackie could feel the sweat running down her forehead from under her helmet even as she fired two shots into another ghoul's head. The resulting spray of brain blood and chips of skull didn't even register in Jackie's mind as she continued her mad dash across the parking lot.

Boots pounding on the concrete she had strolled across so very calmly in a life before this one. A life long lost to the terror of this new world that has been born in the blood of the innocent and guilty alike. The mortality of man more apparent now, in this age, then ever before.

As soon as they reached Mandee's minivan Jackie dropped her pack for Caity to throw into the back seat while she started the vehicle up. Jenn and Upton continued to fire their weapons. One of the creatures was running headlong at Jenn, who took careful aim and squeezed the trigger, obliterating the lower part of the head and sending chunks of the top half spilling across the ground.

Jackie violently shoved the keys into the ignition, and turned them. The van started without any protest, which Jackie was quite grateful for.

"Get in!" she called out redundantly, as everyone was already piling into the van, Jenn firing a final blast out the door before closing it, even as a zombie had reached out to grab her. It lost all four fingers of one hand, which landed on the gray floor of the van, crimson spreading through the fibers of the van carpeting.

"Jake, do you even know how to drive?" Jenn asked, concerned for their safety.

"Couldn't be a better time to learn," Jackie said, pressing her foot down on the gas, sending the van lurching forward. She spun the wheel hard to the left, turning the vehicle towards the road that circled around to the front of the school, and the exit.

As the van left the property, the three passengers looked back at the school. Each had left friends behind, family. They had died in that school, and were reborn into the people that were leaving in that van.

As Jackie drove she didn't need to hold back tears, she had cried all that she needed to on that rooftop. Now she merely drove. Home to see if she had any of her family left, if her home was still standing, or if it was a haven of the undead like the school they had left behind had become. Was it a death trap, or were there survivors?

Jackie pushed the thoughts from her mind. She had to simply get home. To think on it would only drive her mad. If she wasn't mad already.

As the school faded into the distance, Upton thought of all the comrades that had died defending that place, and the other three rescue stations. They all died trying to save what was left of the people of Kingston. Had it really dwindled down to a mere four?

He thought of his parents, both deaf hadn't heard the creatures break into the house. They were lucky in some way, to have died together peacefully, in their sleep. Their once white sheets now stained with their blood, bodies starting to decompose in their own dried up dark brown blood. He thought of his girlfriend, and how he hadn't heard from her since all this had begun. He wondered if she was alive, or if she was dead.

Now he had failed to protect those under his care, while loosing comrades that had actually fought beside him against this unholy menace to humanity.

As the van continued to drive, all four thought of those left behind, of those that had died, and what each had done to merely survive in this new world.

* * *

Two separate shots rang echoed through the silence that had engulfed the day. Jackie stood holding her rifle, a little bit of steam emitting from the ejection port and barrel of her rifle. On the ground below her were the bodies of Fetzner and Esau. Mauled beyond recognition, legs missing, arms torn down to the bone, rib cages exposed. Their bodies had been struggling to move towards Jackie when she had gotten out of the van, but they didn't have enough tissue to carry themselves over to the still breathing human.

She had given them the mercy of rest.

The truck had been driven straight into the ditch. It was useless now. There would be no answer for what had driven the pair into the ditch.

Jackie stood above the bodies, Upton beside her. Jenn and Caity had stayed in the van as the two soldiers paid their final respects to the two missing soldiers of the Princess of Wales Own Regiment. Upton and Jackie were officially the final two.

Jackie knelt by Esau's body. He had been a damned good friend. With surprisingly dry eyes, she extended and hand and closed his eyes.

"Goodbye Esau… hope it's better where you are," Jackie said.

With those simple words she turned to Fetzner. She did him the same service of closing his eyes.

"Hey ya ginger bastard... rest well," Jackie said, the first part in a mock Scottish accent, which made Upton chuckle slightly, and release a few more tears.

Jackie walked out of the ditch, and placed a hand on Upton's shoulder. The two shared a glance. Somehow in that mere glance, so very much passed between them.

"You're not coming with us anymore," Jackie said, it was a statement, not a question. She could see that in Upton's eyes.

"No… there's someone I have to find, just as much as you have to find your home," Upton said, eyes turning back towards the city of Kingston, shimmering with moisture. He had to know if she was still alive, suicide journey or not.

Jackie just nodded. She knew he had to do this. Here at the end of the world, loved ones were all that mattered anymore. Now released from their duty as soldiers to protect the school, simply because they were defeated, both have gone back to another duty as a soldier. To defend the loves in their lives, that was their final code.

"Good luck… see you again some day," Jackie said, bringing Upton close in a full embrace. Her arms wrapped around him, she patted his back.

"I'll miss you Hunter… Jackie. Good luck yourself," Upton said, with a slight smile.

"Come find me, you know where. Goodbye Upt… Jason," Jackie said.

With that the two released from their embrace and walked back to the van. Jason pulled his rucksack from the back, and gave a small casual salute to Jackie, who returned it, with a smile.

She climbed inside the van, started it up, and began to drive down the road. Jenn and Caity didn't ask any questions.

Jackie watched her last comrade fade into the distance through the mirror. She doubted she would ever see him again.

* * *

Jason stood in the centre of the road, rifle in hands, rucksack on his back. He watched the minivan grow smaller as it continued down the highway. Eventually it disappeared, and that was it. He wondered briefly if he would ever see Jackie again.

Now was not the time though. He had his own journey to embark upon, and so with that he started towards the swamps that would get him into Kingston.

* * *

All three girls stood staring at the mess on the road. A truck that Jackie clearly identified as Cody's had smashed right into another car. A dead man with a bullet hole through his fleshless skull was sprawled across the hood of the car, legs still inside the windshield. The worst part of it was that the two vehicles were in the middle of the road, blocking any feasible traffic.

Jackie knelt beside the truck, examining the tracks leading away from the open door. Cody had been here, but he had run off. Jackie looked down the way the tracks went, and saw a copse of trees.

"Stay here you two; I'm going to check those trees out," Jackie said, bringing her rifle into her shoulder, starting towards the trees. She chose her steps carefully, searching for sticks to avoid before setting her foot down.

As she made her way further from the road, Jenn and Caity turned their attention back to the wreckage that was blocking the road, both ignorant of the truck's ownership.

"How are we going to get past this?" Caity asked, crossing her arms over her chest, and frowning at the crashed truck.

"Blow it up," Jenn responded with a shrug.

After the words left her mouth, Jenn blinked. She turned her gaze towards her friend, and both girls turned their heads to look at the van. The van that had a bag of pipe bombs sitting in the back seat that Jason had left behind.

* * *

Jackie entered the small thicket of trees, their shadows stretched across the ground seeming like stretched demons basking in the sun. Her eyes didn't stay on one thing for any length of time, always scanning, on the search for danger. Until her eyes settled on the sad sight leaning against one of the trees.

Jackie lowered the rifle from her shoulder, letting it hang limply from one hand. She closed her eyes and hung her head. She stood like that a few moments, not sure how to react. Finally she opened her eyes again and looked directly at the remains of her stepbrother.

The only way she had been able to recognize him was the blood stained hat still perched upon his skull, and the .22 rifle that had ultimately ended his life nestled in his skeletal lap, barrel resting against the neck. A few strands of rotten meat still clung to the bone in places, and a few ratty tatters of clothing hung from his ribcage. There was a neat hole in his skull from the .22, and teeth marks on almost all of his bones. Scavengers had gotten to him. Coyotes, zombies, or something. The question was, had they come when he was alive, or when he was dead?

Jackie felt like she should say something, but no appropriate words came to mind. She simply walked up to Cody's body and picked up the rifle, accidentally dislodging his skull in the process, which rolled off his shoulders and landed in the grass.

"Sorry," Jackie said, she knew it wasn't enough, but she couldn't think of anything better.

Had she been so emotionally devastated that she couldn't even say a few proper words for her step brother? Was there anything anymore that would be able to hurt her?

Jackie looked towards the road, and saw her two friends. She knew the answer… it was yes, they was still something in this world that meant enough to her that if she lost it, it would carve even deeper scars into her soul.

Slinging her C7 assault rifle, and carrying her father's .22, Jackie left the copse, and the corpse, and started back towards the road. She had to get home, she had to see if there was anyone alive out there.

As Jackie came back to the road, she threw the hunting rifle into the van, earning a strange look from her lover.

"Find anything else?" Jenn asked curiously.

"Nope, just a rifle," Jackie replied, and the other two girls instantly knew she was lying, but they didn't bother to push. If Jackie wanted to tell them, she would.

"We should blow up the wreckage to get us through," Caity said with a wild grin, as Jenn made an uncharacteristically silly motion with her hands expanding outwards whilst making a explosion sound.

Jackie looked over at the wrecks on the road, and shook her head.

"No, we can just drive around it; we need these bombs for emergencies," Jackie said, and with that she started back towards the van. With an exaggerated 'humph' and crossing her arms across her chest Jenn followed close behind. Caity merely snapped her fingers in minor disappointment and followed the two.

* * *

They were getting close, the houses had all but disappeared along the side of the road. Soon enough Jackie would come to the three small houses where her home was nestled. Three houses, three families, the Hunters were one of them.

There hadn't been any zombies along the way for awhile, and Jackie allowed herself to feel hope, even if only a little bit. She drove, all three of the girls in silence.

That was when Jackie saw the smoke. A giant pillar of thick black smoke snaking its way into the sky before trailing away as thin wisps. She knew it wasn't her house, but it was really close. She bit her lip, anxiety gnawing at her stomach. She could feel her heart pounding away inside her breast.

Caity gently set a hand on Jackie's thigh, and squeezed gently, reminding her that she wasn't alone.

They soon saw the three houses and the acres of field that surrounded their small community. The smoke was coming from the field. From a pile of… something; Jackie couldn't quite tell what it was, but she knew it was on fire. There was a figure standing beside it however, a person, still alive.

Jackie slammed on the brakes, and jumped out of the van, leaving behind two confused girls behind. She ran as fast as she could across the field whose crops have yet to even show themselves in the early days of April. The .22 bouncing on her back, the C7 still in the van, Jackie ran towards the man standing in the field.

A cloth was wrapped around his head, concealing the lower half of his face, his long brown hair was whipped around by the wind. A rifle was slung across his back, and he wore a black t-shirt and blue jeans to couple with his hiking boots. He looked at Jackie with surprise in his eyes.

Jackie flung her arms around her brother, who promptly returned the hug, squeezing his sister tight.

"Holy shit you're alive," Max said as the two broke from their hug even as Jenn and Caity jogged across the field to join the siblings.

"Holy shit _your_ alive," Jackie responded, even as the stench hit her. She brought a hand over her face even as she looked over at the burning pile to see what it was. Behind her Jenn and Caity both stopped, Caity nearly retching from the awful stench.

The burning pile was all corpses, more than likely zombies. The stench of rotting and burning flesh, clothes and hair all intermingled into a truly revolting stench. Jackie suddenly understood why Max was wearing the cloth over his face.

Jenn and Caity were already fleeing to the van, but Jackie merely pulled the t-shirt under her tunic up over her nose. She stood in front of her brother, who had been little more than a boy when she had left. But in the way that he carried himself now, with blood stained t-shirt, rifle casually slung over the shoulder, and a look of maturity in his eyes. He was a man now.

"Where'd you get the rifle?" Jackie asked quizzically.

"You're friend Roy came to the house, brought a few guns and lots of ammo. He died though… about a week ago… at least I think it's been a week," Max said, scratching his head.

Jackie nodded somberly. She had been best friends with Roy back in public school. In the days of Grade 5 to 8, when they had thought they were invincible, had played silly games in the backyard. Their friendship had dwindled a bit after reaching high school. They just hadn't spent enough time together, they both got new friends, they both changed in different ways.

They had always been friends though, having a few parties together in the fields around Jackie's house or the forest behind Roy's.

Not anymore… he was dead now, just like so many others before him, just another friend, another soul for Jackie to grieve over. Another spirit to haunt her dreams, about how she hadn't been there for him. She wondered for a moment if his body was one of the ones in the pile… and decided that she'd rather not know.

"There isn't anyone else left at the house… I was the last one," Max continued, shaking Jackie from her thoughts. She looked up at her brother, impressed that he had managed to survive this long. Perhaps it was long, perhaps it was pure survival instincts. Whatever the case, Max was alive, even when people that had better prepared themselves had long been dead.

"We should head back to the house, the smoke might attract some of those fuckers," Jackie said looking up into the sky being smothered with black smoke.

"Yeah… that's a good idea," Max said, and with that the siblings started back towards the van.

* * *

Jackie turned into her driveway, through a opening in the barbed wire that Max and somehow managed to string around the property. Strips of flesh and torn cloth hung from the strands of sharp metal letting the three girls entering the Hunter stronghold a small picture of what had happened here over the past little while.

There were boards over all the windows on the first floor, some of which were splashed with blood. The door looked reinforced, and a ladder hung suspended from a second story window. The place was a fortress.

Jackie stopped the van in front of the house, stepping out and staring up at it in awe at everything Max had managed to do to the place. Jenn and Caity were just as speechless at the spectacle. Max simply walked behind them with thick leather gloves to close the barbed wire.

Jackie couldn't help but let a small smile cross her face. After all this time, she was finally home.


	13. Bastion

**_Author's Note:_** Sorry for the dely in updating, but being home on weekends only is pretty hectic. Anyway, here is the second last chapter for your enjoyment. This chapter is shorter than usual and is quite jumpy, last chapter will be longer.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Bastion**

Comfort and warmth. Cozy dark blue blankets were pulled up to her chin concealing her nearly nude body, pressed up against the warmth of her lover. She breathed in Caity's clean scent, her face nestled into the back of her girlfriend's neck.

Sunlight drifted in from outside, managing to find cracks in the boards that covered the window to make small lines of light on Jackie's carpeted floor, and the first true smile for as long as she could remember formed on her lips, curling upwards as she forgot the death, the horror.

She could feel Caity's body moving slightly as she breathed, still deep in sleep, the warmth of her skin spreading through Jackie's fingertips as they trailed over her sides, and Jackie laid a gently kiss on the bared shoulder before her. The taste of her lover's skin on her lips was heavenly to Jackie, and she nestled in closer to Caity once again.

Jackie closed her eyes, content to simply let the day slip away cuddled up to her love.

* * *

The sound of sizzling bacon filled the room as Max looked on with glee, a wide grin crossing his face. Jenn paid no attention to him, concentrating instead on cooking. As the bacon popped and sizzled in one pan she cracked open some eggs and poured them into a bowl to mix them up.

"Hope you like scrambled," she said absently to the teenager behind her.

"Better than KD all the time," Max responded.

He was almost drooling as the food was being prepared, he hadn't eaten a good meal since the last survivor had been killed. He was happy for the generator so that he could at least make Kraft Dinner, but he wished he was able to make something more… filling.

After a few moments breakfast was ready, and Jenn had Max help her set the steaming and delicious looking food on the table sitting in the middle of the kitchen. Max wandered over to the stairs where he would be able to call down to his sister, still in bed.

"Jackie! Breakfast is ready!" he called down loudly enough that she'd be able to hear through her closed door.

A muffled reply was all he heard, and so he shrugged and went to the table even as Jenn set some toast she had made from bread she had found in the freezer, thankfully not moldy yet.

From downstairs both Jenn and Max heard the door open, and two pairs of feet start to ascend the stairs.

Jackie emerged in the kitchen, hair loose and hanging over her shoulders. She wore a black t-shirt and a pair of her army pants. Caity had changed into some of Jackie's spare clothes, just as Jenn had the night before.

"Morning sleepy heads," Jenn said with a slight smile as she sat down.

"Holy shit, it's a feast," Jackie said staring at the food set up for the four of them.

Caity walked past to sit down with Max and Jenn and immediately began to tuck into the food reminded of her hunger after seeing so much food after living for so long with so little. Jackie shook her head to push away her shock at seeing food, and sat down with the only ones she had left.

The four ate without talking; there was no need for words. The only sound was the scrape of forks against the plate when their meal was done and the food was gone. No more could be made for now; they didn't know how long they had to live off of what they had in stores.

* * *

Max threw Jenn's clothes into the washing machine, followed by Caity's. Just doing chores, the house wasn't entirely his anymore, and for that he was thankful. Thankful enough even to do the laundry.

As he was about to push his sister's uniform into the machine he held the tunic in front of his face for a moment, and shook his head at the blood that had soaked into the green digital camouflage.

Now he knew why Jackie asked him to do laundry. He sighed and threw the soap into the machine, closing the lid and turned the dials to his specifications then turned it on. He turned his back and went off to entertain himself somehow.

* * *

She heaved, her breakfast coming back up in a rushing torrent into the toilet, splashing into the water. She had her hands on the rim, her stomach in immense pain as the acids sloshed around and forced their contents up her throat. Her skull pounded from the inside, made worse every time she puked.

Standing behind Caity, Jackie held her lovers hair out of her face, the least she could do, and the only thing she could do. A feeling of helplessness descended on Jackie's shoulders.

After what seemed like an eternity to both girls Caity's heaving ceased. Wiping her mouth on some tissue and flushing the toilet, Caity stood. Jackie gave her a gentle massage on the shoulders.

"You should go rest hun," Jackie said

"I think so too," Caity said, and with Jackie's help she made her way downstairs to the bedroom.

* * *

Jenn sat in the office, ignoring the sounds coming through both the bathroom and office doors, and staring at the computer screen as it slowly booted up. She watched as numbers and words flashed across the screen too quickly to properly read and register, but it wasn't important, it was just the computer going through what it did every time someone pushed the power button.

Finally the desktop popped up. The wallpaper was a picture of Jackie and Max's father in his bright orange work shirt, a wide grin across his face as he stood in front of the substation where he worked.

Max had said he hadn't tried the computer since it all began, maybe the wallpaper was why. He didn't want to think about his parents, somewhere out in the city, more than likely dead.

She pushed the thoughts from her mind as she clicked the internet explorer icon, the familiar blue 'e' with the yellow slash a slight comfort as it was highlighted. The window popped up, as well as a second telling Jenn to connect or cancel.

She clicked connect, and the modem tried to connect to the internet service provider. There wasn't any beeps or clicks that was so characteristic of dial-up. An error message popped up reading 'no dial tone'.

"Fucking dial-up, she should have gotten something better a long time ago," Jenn said, starting to shut the computer down.

* * *

Max sat down at the table rubbing his hands together as he looked at the spaghetti Jackie and Jenn had hastily put together for dinner. Caity was downstairs sleeping, still feeling nauseous and a pounding headache. Jackie also reported a fever.

The three didn't let that stop them from enjoying the meal set before them. Max greedily dug into the long noodles covered in meaty tomato sauce. He hadn't craved spaghetti this much since he was a little kid.

"Has she been bitten?" Jenn asked, forcing the seriousness of the world into their peaceful dinner.

"No, I didn't see a mark on her, and there's no blood from any external wounds," Jackie said as she twirled some noodles onto her fork using her spoon.

"Probably just the flu then. She does have a knack for getting that quite a bit," Jenn responded, and Jackie nodded as she chewed on her forkful.

Max shrugged when the two girls finished their conversation, and Jackie looked out through cracks in the boards that covered the large back window in her kitchen. Outside the sun was setting, and night was coming over the world.

"Well, I'm off to bed, see you two in the morning," Jenn said, heading down the hall to Cody's old room, which she had claimed as her own, after pushing an empty plate towards the centre of the table.

As Jackie finished she carried hers and Jenn's plate over to the sink, filled with hot soapy water.

"Get the dishes done Max, I need to talk to you after," Jackie said as she went downstairs to check on Caity.

Max sighed; he hated doing dishes.

* * *

Jackie came back up the stairs, C7 slung over her shoulder, just as Max had finished with the dishes. He looked at her, hair done up again, wearing the flak jacket over her t-shirt.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Get a weapon, we're going to check out the area," Jackie informed him.

Max gave his sister a weird look before running upstairs to grab his rifle. The two stepped out into the darkness of the night, and Jackie turned on the flashlight that was still taped to her rifle. The beam pierced the darkness, just as it had in the school's hallways.

Brother and sister moved together around the house, checking the fields, the bushes, the road, the shed behind the house. They looked everywhere for any possible undead assailants.

As they walked back to the house, listening to the sounds of crickets, they didn't drop their defenses, ready at all moments to defends themselves against anything that might be lurking out in the darkness of their yard.

"I have some alarms set up for night. We can all sleep soundly tonight," Max told his sister.

"No, we'll keep a sentry. Me and you, we sleep a couple hours each and keep watch to make sure nothing gets in at all," Jackie said as she opened the front door to their house turned fortress.

"Okay… if you say so… but I get to sleep first," Max said, turning towards his room as they got inside.

"Fair enough, just come get me at about one," Jackie said, heading upstairs, to their father's old room, and Max's new armory.

He shot back something, but Jackie didn't quite hear it. She went up the stairs to the room above their garage. The bed was covered with boxes of ammunition and some rifles. Other than that, the room hadn't changed much. Lighting a candle so as not to attract attention through the large window that looked out over the back yard, Jackie picked up one of her father's books.

She looked at the cover, 'Prey' it was called, by Michael Crichton. She'd always meant to read, she just never got around to it.

Now, she had all the time she wanted, and so opened the cover and flipped through the pages to find where the novel began.

* * *

It was only a few minutes after one, by Jackie's watch, when Max came up to relieve her. He continually blinked, trying to get sleep out of his eyes.

"Just stay awake, make sure nothing gets in," Jackie said.

"Yeah, sure, sure. Good night," Max muttered.

Jackie chuckled, managing to say 'good night' back before going down the two flights of stairs to her room. She slowly opens the door, being sure not to make any sound. Quietly, in darkness, Jackie undressed herself before carefully climbing into bed with Caity, who let out a small moan from the depths of sleep.

Jackie smiled. She knew it might not be healthy to sleep with a sick woman, but she didn't care. She nuzzled up against her love and closed her eyes to sleep.

They were going to make it after all.


	14. Inferno

**_Author's Note:_** Sorry for the long wait, but at long last her is the final chapter. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoy the story.

**Chapter 14: Inferno**

* * *

Moans of pain cut through the darkness of dreams and sleep like a razor. The veil and grogginess dissipated in a mere instant as Jackie's eyes snapped open realizing that it was Caity who was on the verge of tears, pain wracking her body. 

Jackie sat bolt upright, worry coursing through her veins. For a moment she didn't even know how to react. She shook her head clearing her mind for a precious few seconds. Caity's skin was pale and clammy, her eyes bloodshot.

"Hun, what's wrong?" she asked, afraid of the answer, dreading it, but knew she had to find out what was happening.

"Headache... stomach hurts… arm too," Caity replied weakly through clenched teeth, tears now beginning to fall from her eyes as the pain tore through her.

Jackie placed her wrist carefully on her lover's forehead, looking for a temperature. She found that her girlfriend has a blistering fever. She bit her lower lip nervously, this was bad, really bad. She knew she couldn't check her stomach, not really, but Caity had also said her arm hurt, Jackie could check that.

* * *

Max leaned against the window sill of the bathroom on the top floor. He had his eye settled against the scope of his rifle, peering into the field across the street where the pile of corpses still smoldered, smoke drifting lazily to fade into the hazy gray of the sky above. 

The crosshairs of his sight were settled on the chest of a zombie slowly stumbling towards the house. The undead remains of some city worker didn't know there was anyone in the house, simply shuffled towards it.

Max settled his finger on the trigger, waiting for the horror to come closer before risking a shot, he had to make sure that he hit; running zombies were much harder to hit.

The creature started to cross the street, its intestines swaying from a massive hole in its gut. Max shifted the crosshairs to the zombie's forehead, looking straight at its face, skin and muscle peeling from bone, blood dripping from torn lips.

"Eat shit fucker," Max muttered as he squeezed the trigger.

The bullet hit the creature in the temple, breaking through the skull and out the back again, brains falling to the street as the creature slumped onto the pavement, blood pooling around its head.

Max pulled back the action of his rifle, ejecting the spent round. The casing bounced off the edge of the window sill and fell two stories to hit the driveway below. He slammed the action forward again, chambering another round. He did a quick scan of the area to make sure there wasn't anything else.

Upon seeing it was clear he went to the back window, and looked out across the back fields behind his house, all the way to the forest a few kilometers away. There was nothing there.

Max smiled and slung his rifle over his shoulder and started down the stairs, instead of turning onto the main floor he ducked into the garage; he needed to check supplies.

There were a few boxes of ammunition sitting on the old work bench along the back wall, but not too many. Max was running low, that was bad. He didn't know if he'd be able to hold off many zombies. Jackie didn't much ammo for her own weapons either.

Max turned to the gasoline next, there were only a few canisters left, sitting next to the generator, only enough to last a week a most.

His gaze finally turned to the non-perishable goods stacked beside the freezer. They were running low as well, not enough for four people to live off of for a very long time.

Max let out a sigh. He didn't want to leave the safety of his fortress home, but he knew that they had to go scavenging. He ran a hand through his long hair, he had to tell the others soon, and it was not a conversation he was looking forward to.

* * *

Jackie lifted the sleeve of Caity's shirt to examine her arm. As soon as her lover's forearm was exposed, her eyes settled on what was causing Caity so much pain. She felt her heart fall, crushed by despair. 

On Caity's forearm was a small gash, it had slipped past Jackie's notice earlier, but not it was festering, the skin around it had taken on a deathly black shade with veins sticking out a sickly purple. Pus leaked through a scab that had formed over the cut.

"Oh my god… why didn't you tell me?" Jackie said turning her watering gaze towards Caity.

"Because… I didn't want you to worry," Caity said her voice heavy with sorrow, she had known there was nothing anyone could do for her, and simply wanted to enjoy her final moments with Jackie.

A tear escaped from Jackie's eye and she pulled Caity's form close to her own, holding her tight. Caity returned the hug, with what little strength she had left.

"I'm sorry," Caity sobbed.

Jackie didn't know how to respond.

* * *

The three sat around the table that everyone had sat about the day before enjoying breakfast. All of them looked down at the table as their own thoughts ran across their minds. 

Jackie didn't know how to put it easy, because there wasn't any easy way for her to put it, she had simply told Max and Jenn about what was going to happen to Caity.

No one had said anything after the statement, and so silence hung over them, broken occasionally by a cry of pain from the basement. They all knew what had to be done, and who had to do it, but they were in no hurry to take Caity's life from her.

Jackie sat, arms across her chest as her mind raced, fresh tears following their predecessors down her cheeks. The table where she had eaten so many times since she was little, where her parents had told her and Max of their divorce, where she and Caity had had their first romantic dinner together.

"We should say goodbye," Jenn said quietly, and Max nodded.

Without a further word, all three descended the stairs and entered Jackie's room, where Caity was curled into the fetal position on the bed. She looked up as her guests came in, and managed a small smile.

Jackie stood back as Max and Jenn went forward, offering tight hugs and tearful goodbyes. Jackie stood back watching trying not to utterly break down. Max was the first to leave the room, letting Jenn say a few more words of farewell. When she said all that she had to say she gave Caity a tight embrace. As Jenn walked past Jackie the two locked eyes for a moment giving the other a look into the pain of the other. Jenn studied her friend for a moment before continuing on to join Max upstairs, shutting the door behind her.

The two lovers were alone. Caity looked up at Jackie and smiled as she noticed the pistol in her girlfriend's hand, held by numb fingers. Caity nodded slightly, and Jackie loaded the weapon.

"I love you," Jackie whispered quietly.

"I know… I love you too," Caity responded, just as quietly.

* * *

"Houston… We have a problem," Max said looking out one of the boarded windows on the first floor. 

Jenn came up beside him, trying to peer through a crack in the window. After realizing what she was trying to do Max moved aside, and immediately broke into a run for his sniping position upstairs.

After seeing what Max had seen Jenn's eyes went wide.

"Oh shit…" she muttered.

A horde of zombies were approaching the house most of them in a sprint, somehow knowing there were people inside. Jenn pried herself away from the window and picked up Jackie's shotgun, making sure it was loaded.

"Jackie! We have trouble up here!" Jenn yelled as she positioned herself in front of the front door, readying herself for the siege.

Upstairs Max opened his window and began to fire into the approaching horde, sweat gathering on his brow and palms. Fear gnawed at the pit of his stomach as his heart pounded within the protective confines of his ribcage. Was this it? The final conflict for him and his sister?

He tried to ignore the prophecies of doom his mind seeped into his consciousness and concentrated on firing round after round into the fast approaching creatures.

* * *

Jackie sat herself on the end of her bed, vision blurred by the tears that had gathered in her eyes. Caity looked at her, trying to offer a small smile through his grimaces of agony. She was barely clinging to life now, so close to death she tries to offer her love a picture of peace. 

Jackie lifted her pistol, settling her arm on her knee to steady her shaking arm. Memories of the little girl from the school came and went through her mind as she settled the sights on Caity's temple.

* * *

The undead are pounding at the boards of both the front doors, tearing the barricades away, rotting arms reaching in through the cracks they made. Standing behind one of the doors Jenn fired at the heads she caught sight of. Blood, brains and chips of bone splattered across the wood. 

Max was screaming as he fired round after round into the zombies directly below his window, pausing only to reload. He was trying to go too fast, the rounds were slipping in his shaking and sweaty fingers.

"Mother fucker!" he yelled every time a round missed the port in his weapon.

Downstairs Jenn started to feel true fear creep up inside her. She had reloaded a few times already, every shot she made gaining at least one kill, but they were still coming, and the barricades were almost gone, and Jackie still hadn't come up the stairs.

"Jenn! You have to get out of here!" Max yelled through the house as he reloaded once again.

"No! I'm not leaving you all behind," she argued, firing another shell through the widening gaps in the barricades. Even as she said the words she felt hope fading.

Finally the door burst open. For a split second Jenn's instinct for self-preservation took hold and she shoulder the door open into the garage. Too late she realized she had abandoned Max and Jackie, but knew it was too late too turn back now. Firing a shot behind her she ran towards the back door and, hopefully, escape.

The zombies started to run after her, but most started up the stairs to where Max prepared himself for his final stand.

* * *

Caity's breathing became more audible as her lungs struggled to take in air. In her final moment the mask of agony lifted from her face and she gave Jackie a final look of peace and serenity. A look of beauty that Jackie would remember forever. 

Then her eyes fluttered shut and her head slumped forward as she lost her consciousness, and soon her life. Jackie swallowed.

"I love you Caity," she said quietly, and squeezed the trigger.

* * *

She ran as fast as she could, just putting one foot in front of the other. She jumped the back fence of the Hunter's yard without pausing, pulling off a perfect landing. She turned and fired a shell into the skull of each of the two zombies following her. 

Jenn spun again and continued her sprint towards the distant woods, a few zombies running full tilt after her. Every once in a while she would spin and fire, bringing another down in a spray of gore, or she would beat the creature into a mushy pulp.

Each step took her further from the house, and every time she turned she got a glimpse of the house, and each time she saw it, she wondered if that would be the final resting place of the Hunter siblings.

* * *

As the undead crested the top of the stairs, Max fired a single shot into the cranium of the first zombie he saw. The leader fell backwards, tumbling into the mass of ghouls that followed it, slowing them long enough for Max to cock his weapon. 

"Eat shit and die!" he yelled firing a second shot and felling another of the undead. It wasn't enough though, and Max knew it.

The undead came after him too quickly for him to cock his weapon a second time, and so the stubborn sixteen year old used the rifle as a club to beat back his attacks, cracking skulls and necks, killing a few but for the most part simply stalling them.

"Fuck all of you! Fuck you all!" he yelled as loud as he could as if his words would stun them.

His muscles ached, but he still fought desperately. He was going down, he knew it, but he was going out with as much style as he could muster.

The fact that no one would see it, read of it, or even hear of it did not cross his mind as he clubbed back the horde filling his bedroom.

* * *

Jackie slipped most of her uniform on, leaving the tunic behind; it was too much of a hassle. She slipped on her protective vest, and the tactical vest over that, checking her equipment rapidly. 

Without thinking she slipped on the gloves she had taken from an zombie she had slain back in the grocery store, and picked up her assault rifle.

She slammed a magazine in place and cocked the weapon, chambering a single round. The thought of suicide, of giving up, crossed her mind but once. To counter it she pulled a box of matches from her bedside table.

She opened them and looked within. The box was nearly full. She pulled one out, and struck it against the lighting tab, setting the tip aflame. She stared at the fire for a moment. She had to do what she was about to do.

She put the lit match back in the box. The others caught up quickly, becoming a small inferno within seconds. Jackie tossed the flaming box onto the sheets of her bed, which didn't take long to catch fire.

Jackie watched as flames consumed her bedroom even as the first zombie started to pound on her frail door. The flames spreading from sheet to mattress to frame to carpet. Caity's clothes caught aflame first, and Jackie soon lost sight of her love, it was the best burial she could give in a time like this. Jackie turned as the door slammed open, and put a round into the head of the five zombies that stumbled in.

The soldier had no intention on dying in here, she jumped over the corpses and up the stairs. Some of the zombies trying to get up to join Max's brawl noticed her and turned towards the new meal only to catch a round in their head spraying blood across the walls of the Hunter home.

Jackie sprinted up her stairs and turned around them, ignoring the primary entrance to the house and going as fast as she could towards the second door.

Three creatures stood in her path. Jackie shot them down without thinking even as smoke and flames started up the stairs. Jackie pushed past the corpses as they were falling towards the ground, everything seemed to be in slow motion to her as adrenaline pumped through her veins.

She ran through the open door, jumping down the steps that led up to the house, kicking a zombie in the face with the movement. She continued her sprint across the street, towards the smoldering pile of corpses.

Finally she stopped, her chest heaving she fell to her knees, letting her rifle fall from numb fingers. Jackie Hunter lifted her face to the sky above and let out all her anger, her sorrow, her hatred, her guilt, let it all out in a roaring scream towards the clouds above.

* * *

Smoke was coming up the stairs with the undead now, but still Max fought on, his palms blistered from continuously swinging his rifle, blood running from torn skin, but still he fought on. 

A zombie fell, and lunged through the pack towards Max's legs, teeth bared. The young warrior noticed and jumped backwards, forgetting about the large window.

All he heart was shattering glass and all he felt was a sense of vertigo as he fell the two stories to the ground below.

He landed on one of his legs, screaming out in intense pain that shot up from somewhere in his leg. With clenched teeth he looked up at the house, noticing the flames that licked their way through it, gutting Max's only home from the inside.

"The house… the house…" he started to say softly, before a wild grin spread across his face.

"The house is on fire, we don't need no water let the rotting fuckers burn! Burn mother fuckers, burn!" Max yelled as loud as he could, until he saw a zombie falling towards him.

* * *

Jenn stood a long distance from the house, watching the flames consume the last hope of settling down in the tormented world that she had held. 

There was a small explosion from within the garage as the fire reached Max's gasoline. Jenn simply stood, and watched. It was all she could do.

* * *

The gray skies had finally let loose a torrent of rain upon the world. Sheets of fat rain drop fell onto the flaming wreckage of the Hunter home, dousing the flames. 

As Jackie wandered through crisped wooden beams and burnt corpses smoke and heat still rose from the ruins. There was a large dip in the ground where the house had fallen into the basement, making Caity's tomb.

Jackie's eyes quickly examined every charred corpse, looking for any sign of either Jenn or Max.

"Hey! Back here," a familiar voice called.

Jackie looked up and saw her brother leaning against the back fence. He was covered in blood and ash, one hand clamped his leg while the other held his rifle, butt resting on the ground.

Jackie let a smile cross her face as she walked over to him. She knelt in front of him, setting her hands on his shoulders, hardly believing that he was alive. She pulled him close in a sudden hug and Max let out a yelp of pain.

"My leg, my leg! You crazy woman!" he rambled, and Jackie let him go, and did a quick check of his leg.

"It's broken," she said in a matter of fact tone.

"No shit," Max said.

"Don't worry we can fix it," Jackie said and started to look around for something to make a splint.

She looked up to see Jenn standing above her holding two pieces of wood and some rope she had found in the back fields. Jackie stared at her for a moment, unbelieving.

"I got away," she said meekly.

Jackie took the offered materials and quickly made a splint for Max. She and Jenn helped him to his feet and the three stared at the ruins of the house.

For the trio it symbolized the destruction of the past, the bleakness of the present, and the lack of hope that laid in the future.

They started to walk away, towards whatever awaited them, even as ravens flew down through the rain to get their meal.


End file.
